MONTHLY ROUND-UP BPA ACTIVITIES
may be generated when local authorities manage parking controls applied for traffi c management purposes.
But the same law also dictates what can be done with those surpluses and, in the main, this means reinvestment in parking services, public transport and highway schemes to improve road safety. To describe these surpluses as profi t is to misunderstand what is happening.
Commercial businesses are set up to make
a profi t and shareholders benefi t from it: local authorities are set up to provide services to the community and any ‘profi t’ – more correctly called ‘surplus’ – is reinvested in those communities. No individuals in local government nor, more especially, those in parking services, profi t from these activities.
Making good
That said, what can we do about it? How can we help ourselves and educate the great British public about the benefi ts of the provision, management and enforcement of parking? Some councils choose to do this by publishing annual parking reports – if only everyone would do this! There is a BPA Parking Practice Note on annual reports in the library on the BPA website – go on, have a peek. The Traffi c Penalty Tribunal runs an award for the best annual report – yes, you can win an award from the Adjudication Service! Publishing an annual report about parking and traffi c enforcement activity is a great opportunity for local councils and their parking teams to explain to people how important this work is to everyday life in the UK and how effective it is. An annual report represents your organisation and the way it is presented is just as important as its content. It’s a fantastic opportunity to tell your community how and why parking is managed and what the benefi ts are to the public. More importantly it’s an opportunity to explain what you do with the money that is generated and, if this includes surplus, what you do with it. How much investment is there in road safety, public transport, concessionary fares schemes and so on? They’re all funded from the parking account, but how would anyone know if you don’t tell them? The Protection of Freedoms Act of 2012 came about because the public is concerned
www.britishparking.co.uk
about the use of personal data. The BPA is working with the information commissioner (ICO) and the surveillance commissioner to better understand the rules and ensure that our members do, too. A statutory CCTV Code of Practice is being developed and we shall be setting up explanatory workshops for the country, regional and special interest groups – our members. Surveillance-using technology evokes mixed emotions: it helps to keep me safe,but it also suggests there is a problem. Using ANPR cameras to ensure that
every vehicle is insured and has an MOT is acceptable for improving road safety, but use the same technology to monitor my movements and activity and I don’t like it. The effi ciency of ANPR and camera technology is exactly the opposite of what motorists who are attempting to fl out the rules want. They don’t want to be caught in contravention of parking controls. We have to build the public trust in the use of technology so that we can use it to provide good parking. If you do use these technologies, use your annual report to explain why and describe the benefi ts in human terms, not just in terms of effi ciency.
See page 28 for editor Sarah Juggins’ comment on Parking Mad
FEBRUARY 2013 17
An annual report is more than just facts
and fi gures. It represents your organisation
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