The Government’s new Code puts fairness and accuracy at the centre of private parking. For operators, the quality of the data behind every charge is about to matter more than ever.
The Government laid its new Private Parking Code of Practice in Parliament on 20 October, and it covers England, Scotland and Wales. The direction is clear: private parking is moving towards a fairer, more accountable and more transparent standard.
What’s changing for motorists
Charges cancelled on appeal for honest mistakes, such as stopping briefly to check directions, and for events outside a driver’s control, such as a medical emergency, a breakdown or a broken ticket machine
Independent oversight of how charges are issued and how appeals are handled
Getting it right first time
The common thread running through the Code is accuracy at the point of issue. A misread plate, a payment that wasn’t matched, an outdated allow list entry: each of these is now more likely to end in a cancellation, an appeal or a closer look from the regulator.
The most effective response isn’t a better appeals process. It’s fewer mistakes reaching motorists in the first place.
How APT supports accurate data from the start
APT was built around data quality, and the capabilities that support the new Code are already live in the platform.
Fuzzy matching, included as standard.
Camera reads are rarely perfect. APT matches imperfect reads to the right payment session or permission, so a valid vehicle is recognised even when a character has been misread, and errors are caught before they reach a motorist. Matching uses a consistent similarity threshold across the platform, so reads are treated the same way at every site. It’s part of the platform for every customer at no additional cost, because we understand how much data integrity matters.
Confidence you can see.
Every camera read carries a confidence value, shown to operators within the platform, where users can review reads and edit them when needed.
Search that finds near matches.
When reviewing a breach, users can adjust the similarity slider as they search allowed VRMs. Widening the results surfaces near matches, such as a registration with a single wrong character, so a genuine permission isn’t missed because of a typo.
Real-time validation.
Payment sessions from integrated providers and allow list entries are checked automatically, so a breach is only considered when there is genuinely no valid permission.
Built-in safeguards.
DVLA requests can only be made for new breaches. Breaches are held automatically while with the appeals service. Clear rules separate voids from cancellations. Prompts help prevent contraventions being configured incorrectly.
A full audit trail.
Audit logs, allow list change logging and detailed logging of data sent to the appeals service give operators the evidence they need to stand behind every decision.
The result is 99.9% data accuracy, delivered automatically.
Good data is a habit, not just a feature
Technology only delivers accurate data when the set-up behind it is right. That’s why we work closely with our customers on site configuration, validation and workflow, and why good data practice is built into the way APT is designed, not bolted on afterwards. It’s also why accuracy features like fuzzy matching are included for every customer rather than sold as an add-on.
What’s next
We’re continuing to develop APT with additional features to support operators as the Code moves through Parliament and into practice. We’ll share more as they are released.
The new Code raises the bar for the whole sector. For operators with accurate data and well-configured systems, it’s an opportunity to demonstrate exactly the standard they already work to.
If you’d like to talk about what the new Code means for your operation, get in touch with the APT team.
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