National news Round-up of stories affecting the profession across the UK Pavement parking views Changes to CPE regulations The BPA is pleased the government has announced that, in England, all existing civil parking enforcement (CPE) regulations together with the existing bus lane regulations outside London will be merged into a new set of regulations. These will cover CPE everywhere in England, as well all moving traffic and bus lane enforcement outside London. Even if councils have no plans to adopt the new moving traffic enforcement powers, it does mean that the notice processing systems and services for every local authority in England (including London) that are currently undertaking CPE (and those carrying out bus lane enforcement outside London) will need to be modified and adapted to accommodate the change of CPE and bus lane regulations in 2022. Additionally, all references to the old regulations will need to be removed. Kelvin Reynolds, BPA director of corporate and public affairs, said: We are delighted that the government has listened to the sector and is incorporating everything into the new regulations. This will provide a single reference point for all civil enforcement of traffic regulations in England. Given the significant amount of work involved in transition to the new regulations, we have worked diligently with government and our members to agree a pragmatic go live date of 1 June 2022. This should allow sufficient time for everyone to get ready for the changeover. Changes to the Highway Code were due to take effect late last month. The hierarchy of road users is one of a number of proposed changes to improve road safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders. The government has said it plans to communicate the changes in two phases: a factual awareness-raising campaign in early February, alerting road users to the changes as they come into effect; and a broader behaviour-change campaign later in the year, to align with seasonal increases in active travel. Scotland net zero inquiry The Scottish Parliaments Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee has launched an inquiry that will explore the role of local government and its partners private and delivering a net zero Scotland. MSPs will consider what councils and partners are doing practically to help reach the targets, what skill sets are being used, and what barriers are in their way. Committee convener Dean Lockhart MSP said: In Scotland, local government powers span everything from encouraging active travel, to deciding what sort of homes get built in communities, to promoting recycling and a circular economy. We need to understand how council budgets are being used to drive action on The Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland has launched a consultation to get views on tackling the issue of pavement parking. It has undertaken some exploratory work on the issue, presented in a paper called Inconsiderate Pavement Parking Options, which sets out three potential options. These are: introducing individual bans using the departments existing powers; introducing an outright ban on pavement parking; introducing powers attendants to enforce against vehicles found to be parked on the pavement and causing an obstruction. The consultation closes on 18 March. To add your voice, go to bit.ly/PNFeb22NIPP Scotland also has a consultation seeking views on enforcement action on pavement parking. The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 bans pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs, and gives local authorities the relevant powers to enforce these new provisions. The Act also gives local authorities the power to exempt areas of pavement from the ban. The purpose of this consultation is to gather opinion on the proposals for these powers, given to local authorities by regulations. The consultation closes on 11 March. See bit.ly/PNFeb22SC Northern Ireland Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon recently launched a public information campaign to urge drivers who choose to park on pavements to Think Before You Park. The campaign aims to alert drivers to the consequences of pavement parking and the impact it has on other road and pavement users. to understand what role the Scottish government can play to support and where climate change. The committee will report to parliament with the conclusions of the inquiry this spring. 8 britishparking.co.uk PN Feb 2022 pp08-09 News.indd 8 24/01/2022 16:04