Labour has issued a statement after the Government was asked about plans to increase the maximum amount for parking fines.

Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton in North Yorkshire, asked if ministers were looking at reviewing or increasing the maximum level of parking fines that can be issued by councils outside London.

This comes after councils across London increased their parking penalties from April 2025. Several penalties were increased by £30, lifting the higher level for Band A penalty charge notices from £130 to £160.

This is the standard charge for any fines for driving in a bus-lane and for moving-traffic contraventions. Transport minister Lilian Greenwood provide a response confirming work is underway looking at the matter.

She said: "A number of parking sector stakeholders conducted research recently into this issue. It has been shared with the department and officials will be reviewing the research and its findings in due course, and that will then inform decisions about next steps."

In cases where a driver has parked illegally, they may be issued with a penalty charge notice on behalf of the local council. People will usually have 28 days to pay the charge although the fine will often be reduced by 50% if you pay up within 14 days.

The discount period may be longer if it has to do with a moving traffic contravention. For example, Shropshire Council offers a 21-day period during this case.

Charges can often be paid through the council website. If the penalty charge notice is lost, a motorist can contact the council with the licence plate details and it should be able to find the charge notice and explain how to pay.

Drivers have recently been warned about a scam text message going round with a fake message about an unpaid parking fine. Consumer group Which? has warned about the ploy to panic drivers into clicking on a malicious link to pay up.

When you click on the bogus link, it takes you to a fake Government website page to dupe you into handing over your personal and banking details. The text message that comes from a random number reads: "An unpaid parking fine was found on your vehicle. Please pay immediately. Thank you for your cooperation!"

Researchers at Which? tried out using the fake scheme to understand how it worked. A spokesperson said: "We wrote random characters into the 'vehicle registration' box and each time were given a bogus PCN (penalty charge) number and told we owed a £25 fine.

"The location listed for the fine was also the area we were located in, meaning that the page could be using the user’s IP address to know where they’re located to make the scam more convincing. After this page, you’re asked for more personal and payment data including your name, email, phone number and home address to pay the fine."

One telltale sign for this particular scam is that the URL does not go through to the official gov.uk website. The spokesperson warned: "If you receive an unexpected text message, don't be tempted to click on any links or follow instructions to log into any accounts. Links can contain malware that could infect your device and lead to scammers doing further damage."