PART 6FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
Modification of section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984
23.—(1) Section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984(1) applies in relation to the income and expenditure of enforcement authorities in connection with their functions under Part 6 of the 2004 Act in relation to parking contraventions, subject to the following modifications.
(2) For subsection (1) there is substituted—
“(1) A local authority in Wales which is an enforcement authority must keep an account—
(a)of its income and expenditure in respect of any designated parking places in its area which are not in a civil enforcement area;
(b)of its income and expenditure (otherwise than as an enforcement authority) in respect of designated parking places in its area which are in a civil enforcement area; and
(c)of its income and expenditure in connection with its functions as an enforcement authority in relation to parking contraventions within Part 1, paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to the 2004 Act.”.
(3) For subsection (3A) there is substituted—
“(3A) A local authority in Wales which is an enforcement authority must after the end of each financial year send a copy of the accounts kept under subsection (1) to the Welsh Ministers.”.
(4) In subsection (3B) for the words “the end of” there is substituted “the conclusion of the audit of the accounts of the body concerned for”.
(5) In subsection (10) after “in this section—” there is inserted—
““the 2004 Act” means the Traffic Management Act 2004;
“enforcement authority” means an authority which is an enforcement authority for the purposes of Part 6 of the 2004 Act (pursuant to paragraph 8(5) of Schedule 8) and references to the functions of an authority as an enforcement authority are to its functions under that Part of that Act.”.
Income and expenditure
24.—(1) In connection with its functions as an enforcement authority, a local authority in Wales must keep separate income and expenditure accounts in relation to each of the following types of contravention—
(a)bus lane contraventions as described in Part 2 of Schedule 7 to the 2004 Act; and
(b)moving traffic contraventions as described in Part 4 of Schedule 7 to the 2004 Act,
in addition to those accounts in relation to parking contraventions as described in regulation 23.
(2) A local authority in Wales which is an enforcement authority must, after the end of each financial year, send a copy of each of the accounts kept under subsection (1) to the Welsh Ministers.
Surpluses to be carried forward
25. Where, immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations there is a surplus in an account which is kept under section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 as modified in relation to that authority by an Order made under Schedule 3 to the Road Traffic Act 1991 and kept by a local authority the surplus must be carried forward.
Application of sums paid by way of penalty charge
26.—(1) Any surplus in an account which is kept under section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, must be treated as a surplus arising under that section as modified by regulation 23 and must be applied for all or any of the purposes specified in that section.
(2) Any surplus arising in an account kept by an enforcement authority in relation to bus lane or moving traffic contraventions must be applied for all or any of the purposes specified in paragraph (3) and, insofar as it is not applied, must be appropriated to the carrying out of some specific project falling within those purposes and carried forward until applied to that project.
(3) The purposes referred to in paragraph (2) are—
(a)the making good to the enforcement authority’s general fund of any amount charged to that fund in respect of any deficit in the four years preceding the financial year in question;
(b)the purposes of environmental improvement in the enforcement authority’s area;
(c)meeting costs incurred, whether by the enforcement authority or by some other person, in the provision or operation of, or of facilities for public passenger transport services; or
(d)the purposes of a highway or road improvement project in the enforcement authority’s area.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), “environmental improvement” includes—
(a)the reduction of environmental pollution (as defined in the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999(2);
(b)improving or maintaining the appearance or amenity of—
(i)a road or land in the vicinity of a road, or
(ii)open land or water to which the general public has access; and
(c)the provision of outdoor recreational facilities available to the public without charge.
(5) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(d), “a highway improvement project” means a project connected with the carrying out by the appropriate highway authority of any operation which constitutes the improvement of a highway (within the meaning of the Highways Act 1980)(3).
In relation to Wales, section 55 was amended by the Local Government Act 1985 (c.51), Schedule 17, by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c.19), Schedule 7, by the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (c. 22), Schedule 8, paragraph 46, by the Road Traffic Act 1991, Schedule 7, paragraph 5 and Schedule 8 and by the Traffic Management Act 2004, section 95.