Hackney Council spent more than £10,000 on parking penalties and charges over a 12-month period, according to data obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
Breakdown of Expenditure
Between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, council employees incurred a total of £10,253 on parking charges, enforcement, and road penalty fines. Of this, £5,640 was used to pay for 47 penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued by Transport for London (TfL) after staff violated driving or parking rules. The local authority also paid £4,613 in parking penalties, including fines from its own car parks.
Aside from TfL, the largest recipient of penalty charges was Waltham Forest Council, which received £3,100 from Hackney. Smaller payments included £233 to UK Parking Control, £206 to ParkingEye, and £160 to National Parking Enforcement. Additionally, the council spent about £490 on routine parking payments and £850 in fees to TfL for charges such as ULEZ and congestion charges.
Criticism from TaxPayers' Alliance
The figures drew criticism from the free market pressure group TaxPayers' Alliance, which called on the council to refund the “wasted” money to residents. Benjamin Elks, grassroots development manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Council bosses have wasted more than £10,000 on avoidable parking and road penalties. They are quick to fine residents, yet expect taxpayers to cover their own mistakes.” He added: “Those responsible should repay the money, and procedures must be tightened immediately.”
Council's Response and Context
The LDRS contacted Hackney Council several times for comment, but no response was provided by the time of publication. In the 2024/25 financial year, the council collected £11.3 million in revenue from PCNs and parking enforcement, highlighting the disparity between fines imposed on residents and those incurred by the council itself.
