On-street parking and Bus Lane Enforcement Accounts
The Council is required to maintain a separate account of its on-street parking business activities and to report the outcome and the use made of any surplus generated annually to the Mayor of London. The account must contain all expenditure and income in relation to the provision, management and enforcement of on-street parking in the Borough.
General Rules
The use of any surplus is governed by Section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act, 1984 which specifies that the surplus may be used for:-
1. making good to the General Fund for any deficits incurred in the On-Street Parking Account during the previous four years; or
2. meeting the cost of the provision and maintenance of off-street car parking in the Borough, or in another Local Authority. (In 2001 the Council Cabinet agreed that further off-street public parking could be considered unnecessary in the light of the funded proposal to build Seven Kings car park and the absence of any proposals for new parking facilities in the District Centres or the remainder of the Borough).
If, however, it is considered unnecessary or undesirable to provide further off-street parking in this area, the surplus may then be used to fund any of the following:-
a. public passenger transport services;
b. highway improvement works;
c. highway maintenance; or
d. the costs of anything that has the approval of the Mayor of London and which facilitates the implementation of the Mayor's transport strategy.
Any unspent surplus in the accounts has to be carried forward in the account or allocated to fund future spending projects. Any unspent project money has to be returned to the account.
Accounts and statement for 2007-2008
The surplus generated last year was £1,461,973.32 compared to £1,107,229.49 for the previous year indicating a stable position within the account.
During the year Penalty Charge Notice issue levels and revenue continued to decline, which gives a general indication that the level of enforcement deployed is delivering improved compliance with parking controls and restrictions. In July 2007 a new differential charging structure for penalty notices was introduced. The charge for the more serious contraventions was raised from £80 to £100, whilst those for less serious contraventions was reduced from £80 to £60. The net impact was that PCN revenue was maintained at the previous year's level, indicating that Enforcement Officers have been concentrating their efforts towards the more serious contraventions that impact on access and safety.
The following table illustrates the year on year comparison.
|
Financial Year Reporting |
Enforcement Hours Deployed |
PCN's issued (*High Tariff from 1/07/2007) |
PCN's issued (*Low Tariff from 1/07/2007) |
PCN Receipts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2005/6 |
90,736 |
63,980 |
n/a |
£2,118.455 |
|
2006/7 |
68,081 |
61,816 |
n/a |
£1,990,361 |
|
2007/8 |
63,170 |
14,146 27,205(*) |
n/a 13,424(*) |
£2,011,959 |
At its meeting on 12 February 2008, Executive agreed a programme of expenditure for the accrued parking account surplus for 2007/8 and the estimated surplus for 2008/9. The proposal was approved in the Council budget.
During 2007/8, a total of £1,471,873.93 from the parking account surplus was expended on approved projects and revenue funding within the Council's budgets. This programme is continuing.
The net surplus in the account as at 31 March 2008 stands at £951,739.06. There are a number of capital and revenue commitments allocated against this and future surpluses. A report to consider proposals for any further funding from the Parking Account surplus will be considered as part of the Council's budget process later in the year.
Parking Revenue Account 2006 - 2007
|
INCOME |
£ |
£ |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Fees & Charges | |||
| Suspensions | 21,311.00 cr | ||
| Meter Receipts | 1,424,419.32 cr | ||
| Permit Receipts | 754,696.30 cr | ||
| Penalty Charges | 2,011,959.11 cr | ||
| Miscellaneous | 6,913.08 cr | 4,219,298.81 cr | |
| EXPENDITURE | |||
| Direct Salaries & Staff Costs | 506,478.43 | ||
| Maintenance/Equipment | 132,224.07 | ||
|
Supplies and Services |
Publicity & Printing | 31,198.73 | |
| Patrols & Processing | 1,560,906.16 | ||
| Fees & Charges | 113,383.61 | ||
| LC TEC Charges | 50,609.10 | ||
| Court Registration Fees | 45,950.00 | ||
| Support Services | Environmental Services | 184.347.98 | |
| Other Directorates | 132,227.41 | 2,757.325.49 | |
|
NET DEFICIT /SURPLUS (Cr.) |
1,461,973.32 cr |
Parking Surplus Account
Parking Account Funded Expenditure during 2007-2008
|
Revenue Expenditure |
£ |
|
|---|---|---|
| Concessionary Fares Scheme | 852,000.00 | |
| Park & Ride Subsidy | 62,700.00 | |
|
Car Parks Repair & Maintenance Programme |
197,100.00 | |
| Traffic Management Highway Improvement Schemes | 36,000.00 | |
| Capital Programme | The Rose MSCP Structural Repairs | 1,714.30 |
| On Street Pay & Display Equipment | 5,139.18 | |
| PCN Processing System & Equipment | 2,985.00 | |
| Conversion to Pay on Foot Operation (Bittoms car park) | 16,000.00 | |
| CPZ Implementation & Review (Canbury) | 116,375.15 | |
| CPZ Reviews (Surbiton area) | 33,400.51 | |
| CCTV Systems (Bittoms & Blagdon Road) | 100,498.31 | |
| Card Payment Facilities at Car Parks | 53,100.66 | |
| Total | 1,471,873.93 |
Summary of Account Surplus at 31 March 2008
| Brought Forward | 961,639.67 cr |
|---|---|
| Current Account Surplus 2007-8 | 1,461,973.32 cr |
| Applied during year 2007-8 | 1,471,873.93 |
| Balance Carried Forward | 951,739.06 cr |
CCTV Bus Lane Enforcement Account
The Council is required to maintain a separate account of its Bus Lane enforcement activities and report annually to the Secretary of State on its oucome and the use made of any surplus generated. The account must contain all expenditure and income in relation to the provision, management and CCTV enforcement of Bus Lanes in the Borough.
The use of any surplus in the CCTV Bus Lane enforcement accoun is governed by Schedule 2 of the London Local Authorities Act 1996. The legislation specifies that the surplus may be used for:-
- making good to the General Fund for any deficits incurred in the On-Street Parking Account during the previous four years;
- meeting costs incurred in the provision or operation of public transport services or facilities for publi transport services;
- highway improvement works.
The levels of activity recorded for the year alongside the previous year for comparison are set out below
| Bus Lane Enforcement | 2006/07 | 2007/08 |
|---|---|---|
| Hours of CCTV Monitoring |
838 |
548 |
| No. of PCNs issued |
4,489 |
2,442 |
| No. of PCNs paid |
2,825 |
2,065 |
| No. of PCNs paid at discount rate |
2,615 |
1,844 |
During 2007/08 the net surplus from CCTV enforcement was £62,786.08. This compares to a surplus of £99,747.94 in the previous year. A total of £80,000 from the bus lane enforcement surplus was expended on revenue funding of the concessionary fares scheme. It is to be noted that htis is significantly in excess of the in-year surplus. A report to consider proposals for future funding from the Bus Lane Enforcement Account surplus will be considered as part of the Council's budget process later in the year.
Statement of CCTV Bus Lane Enforcement Account
|
INCOME |
2007-2008 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fees & Charges |
£ |
£ |
|
| Penalty Charges | 110,505.00 Cr | ||
| 110,505.00 | |||
|
EXPENDITURE |
|||
| Direct Salaries & Staff Costs | 6,358.51 | ||
| Maintenance & Equipment | 7,247.84 | ||
| Supplies & Services | Enforcement & Processing | 13,110.00 | |
| Fees & Charges | 8,899.86 | ||
| LC TEC Charges | 4,098.55 | ||
| Support Services | Environmental Services | 5,761.14 | |
| Other Directorates | 2,252.02 | ||
| 47,718.92 | |||
| NET DEFICIT/SURPLUS (cr) | 62,786.08 Cr |
Statement of CCTV Bus Lan Enforcement Surplus Account
CCTV Bus Lane Enforcement Account Funded Expenditure
| Revenue Expenditure | |
|---|---|
| Concessionary Fares Scheme | £ 80,000 |
| Total | £80,000.00 |
Summary of Account Surplus at 31 March 2008
| Brought forward from 2007-08 | £37,063.11 cr |
| Current Account Surplus 2007-08 | £62,786.08 cr |
| Applied to revenue funding | £80,000.00 |
| Balance Carried Forward | £19,849.19 cr |
Notes to the Accounts
The general principles adopted in compiling the accounts conform to the requirements of the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting - A Statement of Recommended practice 2006 (ACOP), published by the Chartered Insitute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). Revenue accounts are prepared on an income and expenditure basis in accordance with the Code of Practice and S.S.A.P.2. The accounts therefore include all sums due to the Council and all sums payable by the Council for goods and services provided or received during the year. Estimated accounts are included where the actual amounts are not known at the time of closing the accounts.