Legal All change Derek Millard-Smith and Helen Kelsall, from BPA Lawline, look at the impact of Covid-19 on the parking sector irst, all of us at BPA Lawline trust that you are staying safe and coping with the new world that is evolving daily, which will no doubt adapt our approach to normal forever. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but is understandably worrying and, below, we set out our understanding of the position relating to the parking sector at the time of writing (20 April 2020). We hope that the thinking we are all being forced to do now will bring about a positive reset that will be beneficial to all in the long term. With confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK continuing to rise, individuals and businesses are facing a period of uncertainty, with government advice changing on a daily F basis. Covid-19s impact on the parking sector has been significant, and this article aims to summarise some of the key developments in the sector since the spread of the virus. NHS workers and free parking The government has announced that NHS and social care staff will have access to free car parking during the pandemic. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has promised to give financial backing to all NHS trusts to allow them to waive car-parking fees for staff for the duration of Covid-19. Under new measures agreed by Local Government Secretary of State Robert Jenrick, key workers will also be able to use council-owned car parks and on-street parking bays without time restriction or charge. Jenrick added that local councils should ensure key workers and volunteers can provide suitable evidence, to be displayed in their vehicles, to avoid parking tickets. Many councils have already suspended parking charges for key workers. Whether this will affect private land and enforcement more widely is unclear currently. However, some private car park operators have already taken steps to support the governments policy. Indeed, the BPAs prompt response to the pandemic has coordinated its members, who are now providing free parking to all NHS staff. Several members have also offered sites for storage of essential supplies and Covid-19s impact on the parking sector has been significant 30 britishparking.co.uk PN May20 pp30-31 Legal.indd 30 23/04/2020 13:09