Vince Cable

Vincent Cable and other MPs have been successful in a campaign to crack down on 'cowboy clampers' - vehicle immobilisation companies who can cause immense distress and expense to motorists for what are, often, trivial offences.

Vincent Cable said that he had dealt with several cases in which residents had been left with bills of hundreds of pounds following unauthorised parking on private land including railway property and parking on housing association land: "people get pretty heated about £50 fines from council parking wardens; but this is small beer compared with the problems facing motorists who have been clamped and have their cars turned away. There are some real rouges operating in this field".

The current position is that the government is establishing a compulsory registration scheme for individuals who work for these companies. Vincent Cable said however that the proposals were "too weak; they do not impose maximum fees or codes of practice; there is no system for approving companies which are operators in the industry; abuses will be moderated but there is still too much scope."