The transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin and the communities secretary Eric Pickles are spearheading a bill that would allow ten minutes’ grace on parking tickets before drivers become liable for fines.

The proposal is part of a wider set of measures that will ban the use of CCTV ‘spy cars’ to enforce parking rules and allow residents to ask for a review of their local parking regulations if more than 10 per cent object to them.

Councils will also no longer be allowed to profit from parking fines, which were frozen in December 2013 for the rest of this Parliament. In the 2013/14 financial year, drivers in England paid a total of £350 million in penalties.
Mr McLoughlin said: "These measures will deliver a fairer deal for motorists and help boost the high street by ensuring that parking enforcement is proportionate, while also protecting schoolchildren and keeping key routes and bus lanes clear.”