The government announces plans to prevent wheel clampers from operating on private land.

The government has announced plans to stop wheel clampers operating on private land.

Legislation will be laid before Parliament later this year that will ban private companies from clamping a vehicle or towing it away on private land.

At the moment, more than 2,000 people hold a licence from the Security Industry Authority, or SIA, allowing them to carry out clamping or collect fees.

However, concerns have been raised that many clamping firms set excessive fines, tow cars away quickly or put up ambiguous signs.

When community nurse Hannah Bannock went to treat an elderly patient at her home in Clacton, Essex, the last thing she thought she’d return to was a clamp on her car.

Despite having left it parked in the patient’s private space with an NHS permit clearly on display, that’s exactly what happened.

Hannah Bannock, community nurse: “I was literally only here for about 50 minutes, and they said I had to ring the number on the car and that it was nothing to do with them.

“I rang the number and they said it was going to cost £350 to unclamp the car.”

She was told her fine would go up by £50 for every half hour she refused to pay and ended up sitting in her car to prevent it being towed away.

For Hannah, this wasn’t just about the money or even the principle – it also meant she couldn’t get on with her rounds.

The clamp was eventually released five hours later.

The ban will revoke SIA licences in England and Wales. Only police or councils will be allowed to immobilise or remove a car in exceptional circumstances, such as when a car is blocking a road.

The ban will form part of the Freedom Bill being introduced in November, aimed at cutting unnecessary laws, streamlining regulations, and restoring civil liberties to people.

For more information on parking and the legal obligations of drivers, visit the travel and transport section on Directgov (see link below).

To have your say in the Freedom Bill consultation visit the link below to submit your ideas.