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Power to issue parking tickets in London should be taken away from individual boroughs and given to a single authority, claims Mike Bracey, chairman of the Brewery Logistics Group. Bracey says parking tickets are currently being issued by attendants in record numbers and are costing its members more than £2m a year.

He adds: "For the sake of clarity, it would be better if parking tickets were issued by a single authority rather than the 34 separate boroughs.

"Parking is very  difficult in the capital, but no one knows what the policy is from borough to borough, and some are a lot stricter than others. If you get one ticket it can wipe out the profit for a whole day. I know for a fact that major companies, as well as smaller ones, are very frustrated with the situation."

The FTA has already succeeded in getting councils in Kent to sign a common parking protocol, which has helped to harmonise their different arrangements.

Natalie Chapman, FTA regional policy manager for London, says the organisation wants councils in the capital to do something similar. She tells MT: "There needs to be more consistency across the boroughs. I've just written to all of them asking them to clarify their positions.

"Enforcement  should be the same and the appeals process should be identical. The difficulty for drivers is that they can deliver to a variety of boroughs during the day, and not know what the regime is in each area. If at least half a dozen central London boroughs could sign a protocol agreement, that would be fantastic."