Here you have it, the SPA, given to Mr Mustard as part of his annual Audit inspection of the Accounts and to be published to councillors and the public quite soon.
Interesting points:
Parking PCN income has gone up by £1.4m. This is what the Secretary of State says about parking enforcement:
The three main reasons why the number of PCN is not zero is, probably, the payment system not accepting cash leaves too many people who want to pay to park unable to easily do so, too many people take a chance and stop for their fags & newspapers on double yellows for a minute & that the council spend very little time or money in educating motorists to change their ways (as they are dependent upon the income).
MTC stands for 'moving traffic contraventions' things like the no left turn at Tilling Road which thousands of folk like to ignore at least once (until they find it was a £130 short cut) and yellow box junctions. Those first came under a cctv computerised ticketing system in May 2016 and the number of cameras is being steadily increased. Expect more millions to be harvested next year. Have there been fewer accidents as a result of cctv which you can't easily see at a junction? Mr Mustard doubts it. Has congestion been reduced? Mr Mustard would like to see some facts on the matter, not conjecture.
Permit pricing changed during the year. The amount that Saracens have to pay has reduced since the scheme started in February 2013 and may account for part of the drop in income. Many people stocked up on £1 visitor vouchers before they were price hiked to £4 and then the High Court decided that was an illegal revenue raising move rather than for traffic management purposes.
Pay & Display has increased by 2% which partly shows that our High Streets really aren't recovering. Mr Mustard would like to see cash payments accepted in meters in the High Street which is most used by the elderly as an experiment to see if that increased foot fall. If Mr Mustard could only use cash as his payment method he would shop in Enfield where they sensibly offer a choice of cash, phone or card.
Bus Lane income dropped because a camera went faulty and it wasn't corrected very quickly. Mr Mustard is also surprised that anyone gets caught in the bus lane as it is long established.
Costs increased because NSL have to paid to deal with moving traffic contraventions which were not in the original contract.
£5million of the surplus (it isn't a profit as this isn't a business we are talking about although it is big business & very profitable) has not yet actually reached the bank as the council accrue it as anticipated income for the year which has not yet been paid. Mr Mustard thinks that is wrong as no future costs are accrued. Looks like he will have to object to the Accounts again just as he did last year, an objection which the external auditor has not yet cleared away.
Yours frugally
Mr Mustard
I was under the impression that parking services was privatised to save money but the cost seemed to have increased.
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