Parking warden target setting to be banned

Strict rules will also make it illegal for attendants who hit incentive quotas to be rewarded with prizes of TVs, holidays or even cars.

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It aims to end the widespread practice of wardens blitzing drivers with often dubious tickets.

The Traffic Management Act 2004 ruling comes into force on March 1 next year, following criticism of "over-zealous" councils by the Transport Select Committee and motoring organisations.

Many councils have ditched targets, adopting instead what they called "key performance indicators" based on quality of service.

But critics say some councils have used these indicators as a smokescreen to disguise what are targets by another name.

Campaigner Barrie Segal, of Appealnow.com, said: "Many councils thought they could get away with it by calling them something else - and many still order their attendants to meet a daily or weekly quota.

"It means tickets are dished out to drivers who do not deserve them, as attendants and their bosses try to keep quotas up."

The ruling stresses that parking contractors and wardens should be judged not on the number of tickets issued but "according to how far desired transport objectives have been achieved".

Department for Transport guidance says that instead of judging performance on the number of tickets issued, councils should consider "compliance statistics" - the number of motorists appealing against fines - and the impact that enforcement has on road safety and congestion.

Edmund King, of the RAC Foundation, said: "The ruling will have to be strictly enforced. "Although most councils dropped targets and incentives, coercive bullying of attendants to issue a certain number of tickets has continued in some areas."

Mr Segal said: "I fear that motorists will continue to find themselves targeted as usual."

He added that it was difficult to find out which councils still had targets because agreements with contractors were often claimed to be confidential.