File:Haringey's Parking Charges.jpg

English: These laminated leaflets appeared in January 2011, posted in streets inside Haringey's Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs). They were part of the London Borough's statutory consultation on proposals for substantial increases in Parking Permit Charges.

In the past I've joked about some Haringey Council parking consultation leaflets. For example, one missed out the key information that charges were increasing. Another pretended that lines marking out parking bays were being "upgraded". In fact they had to be corrected because they were unlawful.

But there was nothing coy or shamefaced about the leaflet in the photo. It proudly announced the price hike in full multicoloured detail. (Read it enlarged here - back button returns to this page.)

A Tax In Everything But Name?

The key question, of course, is whether local councils raise parking charges to balance the Parking Account - which by law they are required to do. Or is it to raise more money to fill holes in their budgets?

On 14 August 2010 in a Daily Telegraph article - Motorists hit by soaring parking 'tax' - Rebecca Lefort suggested it was the latter. She commented that: "Councils have been accused of declaring war on the motorist after introducing a raft of new parking charges to plug holes in their budgets."

§ Similar points were made by Andrew Cooper, Kirklees Green Party councillor in a video clip from a December 2010 BBC Politics Show (Yorks & Lincs). . . . Read more here.

A Price-fixing Cartel ?

Also in January 2011, Flickr member Anony Pony pointed out that Haringey's Parking Account had been in healthy surplus. The Annual Report for April 2009-March 2010 (published in June 2010) showed a surplus of £3.096 million for that year. Anony also poured scorn on the justification used by Haringey Environment Department for the price hike - that it would bring Haringey's charges in line with other councils' charges. "Instead of giving us value for money", she wrote, "they seem to think having a cartel and price fixing is the way to go."

The Position in 2012

Naturally I was curious to see Haringey's 2010-2011 Parking Report. It didn't appear in June 2011, nor in September. I was told it was planned for January 2012.

  To have at least a slim chance of getting information about the Parking Account without further delay, on 12 January 2012, I made a Freedom of Information Act (F.o.I) request. And so any Haringey resident could see it, I used the publicly accessible website WhatDoTheyKnow,com. Click the blue link to see my F.o.I request and follow-up email to Kevin Crompton, Haringey's Chief Executive.