§ 1. Mr. Robin Corbett (Birmingham, Erdington)What proposals he has to regulate the use of wheel clamping on public land. [54325]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Ms Glenda Jackson)The Government understand the concern of those who have felt intimidated or tricked by unscrupulous wheel dampers looking to make easy money. Such behaviour should not be allowed to continue. In our transport White Paper, "A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone", we announced our intention to introduce regulation of wheel clamping as part of a package of statutory measures to regulate the private security industry as a whole. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary intends to introduce firm proposals to that end later this year.
§ Mr. CorbettI thank my hon. Friend for that reply, but I urge her not to delay bringing to an end the harassment and intimidation of motorists by cowboy dampers. One woman was threatened that her three-year-old child would be held to ransom until she paid £60; another's gold tooth was demanded in payment; and a hearse was clamped with a body still inside it. Many people in the industry observe codes of practice, and I urge the Government to act quickly, unlike the Tory Government.
§ Ms JacksonMy hon. Friend listed only three activities which are utterly reprehensible and which, I am sure, the whole House abhors. Let me reassure him. The private security industry encompasses a wide range of activities and occupations that bring individuals into contact with the public, who can, as a result, be put at risk. The scope of the proposals to be contained in the White Paper will include any sector of the industry that places employees in positions of trust and the public at risk. Wheel dampers, whether employees of private security firms or operating independently, will be covered by the proposals.