Hounslow Council Paid Fines for Staff and Contractors
Taxpayer covers the cost of PCNs issued to employees at work
The fines were issued for driving on restricted streets and parking offences
July 9, 2026
Hounslow Council has been accused of double standards for covering parking fines incurred by employees and contractors while demanding payment from members of the public for the similar infringements.
In some cases the council appears to have used taxpayer money to pay penalties issued to third parties working on behalf of the authority.
Data obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) indicates that between April 2025 and March 2026, Hounslow Council paid itself hundreds of pounds for a range of parking and driving fines in the borough – effectively letting off workers who flouted rules that members of the public would have had to pay a penalty for.
These fines were for staff parking incorrectly or driving on restricted streets. Each fine has been charged to the service within the council where the offending employee works. In all cases, Hounslow Council says it is “for the service to recover the cost from the driver of the vehicle” but there appears to be no specific direction that this has to happen.
Fines worth £80 and £205 respectively were levied against vehicles from the council fleet used by landscaping firm Lampton Greenspace 360 that were driven on a restricted street, while £80 was levied against a vehicle used by Coalo – a facilities maintenance firm – that was parked without a valid ticket. Rather than charge the contractors, the council covered the cost.
On one occasion, a council bus being used by the authority’s health outreach team was issued an £80 fine after the vehicle was parked in contravention of local restrictions. The council department appealed to the council over the penalty – it was unsuccessful.
In lieu of this, the council used its own funds to cover the cost instead of charging the offending driver. The council says this was done because it was issued whilst the employee was working.
A £130 fine was also paid on behalf of the Waste and Recycling service for an incorrectly parked vehicle.
It’s not only self-imposed fines which have been paid out of the public purse. One council employee was fined £160 in private parking charges whilst carrying out their job.
However, council management concluded that the driver “reasonably believed their permits covered the locations in question and were therefore not at fault”. The taxpayer covered the cost. Our FOI also uncovered instances in which receipts for employee expenses were lost but the costs were still covered.
In November 2025, the LDRS revealed that single mum and NHS nurse, Loretta Alvarez, was fined £1,000 for “fly-tipping” when she left an envelope next to her overflowing council bins. At the time, Loretta said she genuinely did not believe that this was fly-tipping. She was forced to cough up £1,000, an experience shared by residents across the borough, according to Councillor Jack Emsley, Leader of the Hounslow Conservative Group.
Reacting to the findings, he said: “Council services faced millions in cuts in the last budget, so these latest expenses figures will come as a slap in the face for local residents. The fact that frontline council services are being forced to find savings whilst frivolous expenses are paid out without receipts should embarrass Hounslow Council – it simply wouldn’t be allowed in a well run private sector business.
“Perhaps the worst issue uncovered in this report is that the council has paid for dozens of PCN fines, including parking tickets given to council drivers. Thousands of residents have been stung by the council’s heavy handed approach to fines and traffic enforcement.
“The fact that taxpayers are also having to bail out council employees who are given the same fines just reinforces the feeling that it’s one rule for Hounslow Council, and another rule for the rest of us.”
This is not the first time that the Labour-led Hounslow Council has faced accusations of enforcing a double standard. In November 2025, the LDRS revealed how the then councillor for Hounslow Health, Farhaan Rehman, had parked his Lamborghini in a disabled parking space without a blue badge on two occasions.
Just days later, the then Feltham West councillor Hina Mir also parked in a disabled spot.
Both councillors are understood to have paid the equivalent of a parking fine for the infringements, but only after the LDRS’ reporting.
A spokesperson for Hounslow Council said: “The council takes the stewardship of public money very seriously and has clear controls in place governing the use of corporate payment cards. All transactions are reviewed and charged against service budgets, with budget holders responsible for ensuring expenditure is appropriate and in line with council policies.”
Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter
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