Cornwall staff shortages put parking machines out of order

Parking machines are filling up and not being emptied, councillors said

A number of Cornwall Council's parking machines are out of order because the company employed to empty them has staff shortages.

In an email sent to councillors, Philip Desmonde, cabinet member for transport, said contractors G4S were "not meeting their contractual obligations".

The council said 20% of machines were affected and they were trying to ensure a working machine in each car park.

G4S said it was working closely with the council to prioritise collections.

Councillors were told that last week 32 parking machines in Cornwall were full and so out of action.

In an email, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Desmonde said urgent meetings are set to be held with G4S to try to resolve the issue.

He was responding to concerns that the council could be missing out on thousands of pounds of income.

He wrote: "Following concerns raised in relation to the number of pay and display machines that are being reported as out of service throughout the county, I have asked officers to investigate this matter and provide me with an update.

"The Parking Service have confirmed that the majority of machines are going out of service as a direct result of the cash collection contractors (G4S) not meeting their contractual obligations."

'Could take six months'

He then provided a statement from parking manager Craig Taylor, which stated: "G4S have been, and are still struggling to recruit/retain the staff they need to fulfil their cash collection contract for Cornwall.

"They would normally have approx 15 staff cash collecting but currently have four."

He added that even if new staff were sourced, it could take up to six months to get them into operation.

The statement said the Civil Enforcement Team have been assisting with emptying cash boxes but were no longer able to continue with the heavy demand.

G4S said in a statement: "Working closely with Cornwall Council, we have prioritised collections to ensure all the services we deliver proceed as planned."