Coleman says parking enforcement in Barnet could be outsourced to private company (From Times Series)

Coleman says parking enforcement in Barnet could be outsourced to private company

3:20pm Thursday 2nd September 2010 in

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PARKING enforcement in the borough could be outsourced as part of a drive to make the department more responsive and save cash, it was revealed last night.

The plans are to be put forward by Councillor Brian Coleman, who is in charge of transport, as part of the Future Shape plans being implemented at the moment.

If successful it would see the responsibility for employing parking wardens and issuing things like residents parking permits pass to a private company which pays a fee to Barnet Council each year.

The revelation came as a report put before the budget scrutiny committee showed up to £1m of investment is needed to improve parking meters, with 28 per cent of machines out of action at any time.

The report also anticipates the service will not make its estimated £4m profit this year, which could lead to a shortfall in terms of cash needed to make repairs on roads and pavements in the borough.

Cllr Coleman told the committee: “I am proposing to put in a paper to the next cabinet meeting on outsourcing the entire parking service of the borough.

“I have some concerns about the operations of the parking department. Many councils have outsourced parking for many years.

“I'm not convinced the current in house arrangements are providing value for money, are efficient or a good service for residents.”

The report also revealed a large number of appeals at the parking ombudsman were won by motorists, which is put down to poor road markings, which also need substantial investment to change.

He said there would also be a push to move towards cashless parking systems, where users pay by credit card over the telephone and offer residents a chance to buy pay and display “season tickets”.

When questioned by Labour councillor Alex Brodkin on whether the outsourcing would see the council lose control of how enforcement occurred Cllr Coleman told him the contract would be “Barnetised” to keep control of the policy.

Councillor Alan Schneiderman also asked how the council could predict issuing 130,000 parking tickets this year, but was told there could not be a budget without such forecasts and there was no target for parking attendants to hit.

Should parking services be outsourced? Are you happy with the parking service currently? Leave your comments below.