§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many traffic wardens were operating in police authority areas in each of the last 15 years, listed in descending order according to the biggest disparity between the first and last year. [158072]
§ Caroline FlintThe number of traffic wardens employed by each of the police authorities in England and Wales for the last four years is given in the table, which also shows the percentage increase or decrease in numbers between the first and last years. Figures for the years prior to 1999–2000 are not recorded centrally.
Under the provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1991, local authorities can apply for parking restrictions in their areas to be decriminalised and enforced by the authority under civil law. Many have now done so, and this has helped lead to a marked decline in traffic warden numbers.
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Selected Indicators Traffic Wardens Percentage Values 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 Decrease Increase Merseyside 106 93 63 52 50.9 Nottinghamshire 58 39 30 29 50 West Mercia 30 23 21 15 50 Lancashire 94 87 84 50 46.8 Cleveland 13 10 12 7 46.1 Sussex 110 98 62 61 44.5 North Wales 12 12 8 7 41.7 Durham 22 19 19 15 31.8 Thames Valley 58 45 51 42 27.5 Avon and Somerset 59 48 44 43 27.1 Cheshire 25 20 20 19 24 Suffolk 31 29 29 25 19.3 Metropolitan Police 817 689 632 687 15.9 Northumbria 70 72 71 59 15.7 West Yorkshire 116 107 99 98 15.5 Norfolk 37 33 34 33 12.1 Gloucestershire 35 30 30 31 11.4 Gwent 30 28 28 27 10 South Yorkshire 62 71 77 68 9.6 Humberside 53 51 51 48 9.4 Leicestershire 67 65 72 61 8.9 Greater Manchester 96 88 87 88 8.3 Hertfordshire 38 45 42 35 7.8 Dyfed-Powys 14 15 12 13 7.1 Surrey 16 25 20 17 6.3 Devon and Cornwall 119 110 101 103 5.1 Derbyshire 50 44 50 48 4 South Wales 100 104 100 99 1 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 — Cambridgeshire 35 38 36 35 0 — Lincolnshire 20 21 21 21 — 5 Warwickshire 8 9 9 9 — 12.5