London councils spend taxpayers' cash paying staff parking fines while backing crackdown on motorists

London motorists faced tougher parking penalties while four boroughs used public funds to settle almost £39,000 in fines incurred by council workers and contractors.

Records from Hackney, Lewisham, Wandsworth and Croydon reveal dozens of penalty charge notices and road-traffic fines were initially paid through council accounts, despite the authorities supporting increased charges intended to deter illegal and inconsiderate driving.

The figures have prompted accusations of double standards, although some councils insist they recover the money from employees who are found to be responsible.

Lewisham recorded the largest total, paying £15,350 towards 40 penalty charge notices issued between May 2024 and December 2025.

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Purchase-card records repeatedly referred to council "staff" and "operatives", including £6,955 paid in November alone. Entries worth £5,000 and £1,360 were listed as "ULEZ fines".

The authority did not confirm whether any of that money had subsequently been reimbursed by the drivers concerned.

Hackney paid £10,250 towards 96 parking and traffic penalties in the most recent financial year, while describing its enforcement programme as "undoubtedly our strongest yet".

Freedom of information records showed £6,060 went to Transport for London, with another £3,215 paid to enforcement teams in neighbouring Waltham Forest.

Councillor Jacob Cable, Hackney's cabinet member for climate, clean air, energy and transport, said drivers remained personally responsible for fines incurred while working.

"The council only covers costs in rare, exceptional cases, such as during an emergency response, due to an internal processing error, or where it is not possible to reclaim the cost from a former staff member," he said.

Mr Cable added: "The £10,000 figure represents a small fraction of the total PCNs during that period, with 96 per cent of fines paid by drivers personally."

Wandsworth settled £10,040 in penalties accumulated by workers and contractors between January 2023 and March 2026.

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An officer said the council pays fines promptly to secure reduced rates before seeking repayment from drivers found to be at fault.

Croydon paid £3,244 towards parking and other vehicle penalties between January 2023 and March 2025.

The payments included £324 to enforcement company CDER Group for an outstanding penalty charge notice, £240 to Transport for London and £100 to UK Car Park Management for a "presiding officer fine".

The spending emerged after Croydon's Conservative mayor Jason Perry launched a crackdown on abandoned vehicles, warning: "If you do not pay your way, expect your car to be towed away."

All four authorities supported increased London penalty charge notice rates, arguing tougher sanctions were needed to discourage dangerous and inconsiderate parking and driving.

A spokesman for Croydon council said: “Our drivers are required to adhere to the regulations of the road. There may be occasions where this is unavoidable due to emergency works or other mitigating circumstances.

“Where a PCN has been received and paid by the council, this is with consideration to the reasons and in discussion with the driver.

"We take our budget responsibilities seriously, ensuring spend is kept to a minimum and only where necessary.”

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