Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:13 pm on 28 November 2017.
I thank the First Minister for that illuminating response. It was recently revealed, following a freedom of information request to all local authorities by the BBC, that councils are making hundreds of thousands of pounds a year out of pay-and-display parking machines that don't give change. Only six of the 22 local authorities were able to provide the information, but, for them, this amounted to £650,000 over three years. Is this not an abuse, and should not these profits go back into the development of car parks or related services to improve parking facilities in towns? At the minute, there is no statutory requirement for local authorities to do that, but where profits are being made in this way, so that they're not just going to be a rip-off on the motorist, shouldn't the money be used for related purposes?