Private Parking

BBC ONE West and ITV1 reported that a new government code would give drivers stronger rights to challenge private parking charges, including charges arising from genuine mistakes. Both channels said the measures included a guaranteed five minutes for drivers to decide whether to park, 10 minutes to leave after a parking session ends, and the possibility that non-compliant operators could lose access to the DVLA database. BBC ONE West reported that the maximum parking fine would be frozen at £100 and that charges could be cancelled for briefly stopping to check directions, medical emergencies, breakdowns, or broken ticket machines. It reported that Andy Burnham, described as Prime Minister, announced the changes, and that an independent oversight body would oversee the rules. ITV1 reported a maximum charge of £20 for minor mistakes such as entering the wrong number plate or not displaying a permit. ITV1 said the code had been laid before Parliament and could be in place before Christmas. ITV1 reported RAC head of policy Simon Williams as saying the move was a step in the right direction but not the leap the RAC had hoped for. He said the code could have banned debt recovery fees added to the £100 charge after 28 days and introduced a single independent appeals service instead of two industry-run services. ITV1 also reported that a private parking charge is an invoice for an alleged breach of contract rather than a fine, that 17 million charges were issued last year, and that operators risk sanctions including loss of DVLA database access. BBC ONE West reported that 17 million private parking tickets were issued last year, up 17% on the year before, and included an industry response that parking management exists to protect land and that most operators deal with motorists fairly.

Key Claims by Channel

Claim
Reported by all 3 channels
Parking rules will allow drivers five minutes to decide whether to park.
Around 17 million private parking tickets were issued last year, an increase on the previous year.		Reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
Reported by a few · 2 channels
Charges for minor parking mistakes, such as entering the wrong number plate or not displaying a permit, will be capped at £20.		Not reported by BBC One
Operators that do not comply risk having their access to the DVLA database restricted.	Not reported by Channel 5		Reported by ITV
A new government code would strengthen drivers' rights to challenge private parking charges, including charges resulting from genuine mistakes.	Not reported by Channel 5	Reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
A previous private parking code was introduced after 2019 legislation and later withdrawn following legal challenges from the industry.	Not reported by Channel 5	Reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
Only on one channel
The maximum private parking fine is frozen at £100.	Not reported by Channel 5		Not reported by ITV
The private parking code could be in place before Christmas.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC One
Private parking charges are invoices for alleged breach of contract, not fines.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC One
Parking charges could be cancelled for brief stops to check directions, medical emergencies, breakdowns or faulty ticket machines.	Not reported by Channel 5	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV
Andy Burnham was reported as announcing the changes and described as Prime Minister.	Not reported by Channel 5	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV
An independent oversight body would monitor the fairness and consistency of the rules, with safeguards against attempts to game the system.	Not reported by Channel 5	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV
The RAC said the code could have banned debt recovery fees added to the £100 charge after 28 days.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
The RAC said the code could have introduced a single independent appeals service instead of two industry-run services.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
The number of private parking charges had doubled since the private parking code of practice act came into force.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV
An industry response said parking management exists to protect land and that most parking operators deal with motorists fairly.	Not reported by Channel 5	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by ITV
RAC head of policy Simon Williams described the move as a step in the right direction but said it was not the leap the RAC had hoped for.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by ITV

This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.