Traffic Management (Northern Ireland) Order 2005

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Traffic Management (Northern Ireland) Order 2005. The noble Lord said: The purpose of this order is to transfer the powers for parking enforcement in Northern Ireland to the Department for Regional Development, following the decision of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to withdraw from this activity. This order would introduce provisions for decriminalised parking enforcement, broadly in line with those already in force in Great Britain by the enactment of the Road Traffic Act 1991. It would also introduce provision for the civil enforcement of other traffic contraventions in line with those enacted in Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004. The order is about dealing effectively with and reducing illegal parking, which is a significant problem in Northern Ireland. Those who responded to the public consultation on the proposals agreed that effective parking enforcement was necessary and supported the proposals, including provisions to clamp or tow away vehicles in certain circumstances. I should say now that the department’s intention is not to clamp or tow away vehicles for routine enforcement purposes. These powers will be used primarily to recover outstanding debts; in other words, if you park your car illegally and do not pay the fine, at some time in the future your car may be towed away if you have collected a few fines. However, that would not be done to enforce illegal parking, but only for non-payment of the debt. Transport for London uses similar powers to recover debts from unpaid congestion charge penalties, a point that I did not know until I met colleagues to be briefed about this. I am informed that that is working well—it must be because I have not read about it anywhere—as a debt-recovery tool. Since July 2003, Transport for London has clamped or removed over 2,200 vehicles to recover such debts. Payment has been secured on 64 per cent of the debt in question. During the public consultation on the order, some concerns were expressed about using a private company to carry out the enforcement work. We believe that a specialist private company will bring experience and expertise in managing similar operations elsewhere. The department, with its experience in contract management, will carefully specify the contract and oversee the delivery of it. Note that the administration of the proposed scheme, including the processing of payments and decisions on debt recovery, will all remain in the public sector. Likewise, the interface with the public about the operation of the scheme, including complaints, will be handled by the department’s Roads Service. That transfer of powers is intended to lead to less congestion, traffic moving more freely on the roads, and improved road safety. In practice we expect it to benefit all road users. The proposals have been welcomed, especially by disabled drivers, because more effective enforcement will mean that parking bays on public roads reserved for blue-badge holders are more likely to be available to them. The proposed new system will also be more efficient and economic. While it is difficult to put a figure on it, the estimated savings are modest. Putting a cost on reducing congestion is not the easiest thing in the world. We all know that it must cost the overall economy a fortune, particularly due to badly parked vehicles. The Government are confident that as a result of the proposed new scheme we shall see fewer people running the risk of parking illegally. Town centres and neighbourhoods throughout Northern Ireland will be safer and better places for that. There are economic benefits that are clear to everyone. The central part of the public interface will remain in the public sector and the issue of clamping and towing will be used for debt recovery and not for the enforcement of illegal parking. I beg to move. Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Traffic Management (Northern Ireland) Order 2005.—(Lord Rooker.)