Do the police keep speeding fine money?

No. Under section 82 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 and section 38 of the Courts Act 2003, fixed penalty receipts are paid into the Consolidated Fund. The police keep a share of speed awareness course fees, which must cover costs, with any excess spent on road safety.

Can councils spend parking fine money on anything?

No. Section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 limits a surplus on the on-street parking account, which includes all penalty charge income, to purposes such as parking, public transport, highway and environmental improvements.

In this section: Hold them to account

Fines and penalties, and where the money goes

Last updated 29 September 2026. Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.

It depends on the fine, and the law is specific. Police fixed penalties, including speeding, go to the Treasury's Consolidated Fund, not to the police or the council. Court fines and HMRC penalties go there too. Council parking and traffic penalties are kept by the council but ring-fenced: a surplus can only be spent on transport, highways and similar purposes, and English councils made a parking surplus of £1.4bn in 2025–26. Congestion, ULEZ and Clean Air Zone money must be spent on local transport.

Figure as of 22 September 2026. Source: legislation.gov.uk, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Key figures

£1,433.4mEnglish councils' parking surplus up on a year earlier: +£249.9m (+21.1%) vs 2024–25 2025–26
£3.0bnHMRC fines and penalties revenue up on a year earlier: +£0.5bn (+20.0%) vs 2024–25 2025–26
£229mCourt fines collected, England and Wales up on a year earlier: +£1m (+0.2%) vs 2024–25 2025–26
4,375,421Motoring offences dealt with by police, England and Wales up on a year earlier: +328,167 (+8.1%) vs 1 January 2023 As of 1 January 2024

Sources: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, HM Revenue and Customs, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, Home Office.

How much do fines and penalties bring in?

£1,433.4m

English councils' parking surplus, 2025–26

+£249.9m (+21.1%) vs 2024–25

Figures for the 2025–26 financial year. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

£3.0bn

HMRC fines and penalties revenue

+£0.5bn (+20.0%) vs 2024–25

Figures for the 2025–26 financial year. Source: HM Revenue and Customs. Checked by hand 22 September 2026.

£229m

Court fines collected, England and Wales

+£1m (+0.2%) vs 2024–25

Figures for the 2025–26 financial year. Source: HM Courts and Tribunals Service. Checked by hand 22 September 2026.

4,375,421

Motoring offences dealt with by police, England and Wales

+328,167 (+8.1%) vs 1 January 2023

Figure as of 1 January 2024. Source: Home Office.

These are not additive. The parking figure is income less spending; HMRC's is penalties recognised in its accounts, some never collected; court fines are cash collected in the year, whenever imposed; the motoring figure is a count of offences, most of them dealt with by a course rather than a fine.

Where does each pound legally go?

Public money is routed in one of four ways. Into the Consolidated Fund, the government's general account, to be spent on anything Parliament votes for. Kept by the collecting body but ring-fenced by law to particular purposes. Kept by the body that collects it, to cover its costs. Or paid to a named body. Private charges, like private parking tickets and the M6 Toll, are not public money at all.

Where the money from each charge legally goes

Police fixed penalties, including camera-detected speeding (England and Wales)

Because of
Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, s82(1), applying Courts Act 2003, s38(4)

Consolidated Fund (general Treasury funds): the Consolidated Fund. Not police forces or councils.
Fines, fixed penalties and forfeitures in Scotland

Because of
Scotland Act 1998 (Designation of Receipts) (Amendment) Order 2017

Consolidated Fund (general Treasury funds): the Scottish Consolidated Fund, with a matching reduction in UK funding for the Scottish Government.
Speed awareness and other driver retraining course fees

Because of
Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, s90G, inserted by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, s89 (in force 26 October 2022)

Kept by the body that collects it: the police and the course provider, to cover the course and its administration. Any excess must be spent on road safety.
On-street parking charges and all council parking penalty charges (England and Wales)

Because of
Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, s55, as applied in England by SI 2022/71, regs 25 and 27

Ring-fenced by law: a ring-fenced parking account. A surplus may only be spent on parking, public transport, highway and environmental improvements and similar purposes; a deficit is made good from the general fund.
Council car park (off-street) tariffs

Because of
Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, s55(1), and DfT statutory guidance on civil parking enforcement

Kept by the body that collects it: the council's general fund. Section 55 covers on-street parking and enforcement income, not car park fees. Not verified
Bus lane and moving traffic penalty charges, councils outside London

Because of
Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022, regs 28, 29 and 31

Ring-fenced by law: separate accounts whose surplus may only go on public transport, highway or environmental improvement, or repaying general fund deficits.
Council parking penalty charges in Scotland

Because of
Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, s55, as described by Transport Scotland

Ring-fenced by law: a parking account whose surplus is limited to transport-related purposes, as Transport Scotland describes it. Not verified
London Congestion Charge and Ultra Low Emission Zone

Because of
Greater London Authority Act 1999, Schedule 23, paragraph 16

Ring-fenced by law: Transport for London, to be spent on transport under the Mayor's Transport Strategy.
Clean Air Zone charges and penalties, and the workplace parking levy (England)

Because of
Transport Act 2000, Schedule 12, paragraph 8(2)

Ring-fenced by law: the council, and only for its local transport policies.
Low Emission Zone penalties in Scotland

Because of
Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, section 27

Ring-fenced by law: the council, only to further the zone's objectives, then to repay grants.
Dart Charge (Dartford Crossing)

Because of
Transport Act 2000, Schedule 12, paragraph 13

Paid to a named body: the Department for Transport, which counts it against its overall transport spending. It is not tied to the crossing or any other project.
Local bridge tolls (Mersey Gateway, Tamar)

Because of
Local charging orders and bridge Acts

Kept by the body that collects it: the bridge authority, to pay for building, running and maintaining the crossing. Not verified
M6 Toll and private parking charges

Because of
Private concession (M6 Toll); contract law and the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 (private parking)

Private money, not public: private companies. Not public money.
HMRC penalties and late payment interest

Because of
Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921, s2

Consolidated Fund (general Treasury funds): the Consolidated Fund, through the HMRC Trust Statement. Penalties relating to National Insurance go to the National Insurance Fund.
Court fines (England and Wales)

Because of
Courts Act 2003, s38; Sentencing Act 2020, s132(6) for Crown Court fines

Consolidated Fund (general Treasury funds): the Consolidated Fund by law. In practice the Ministry of Justice keeps most of what it collects as part of its spending settlement.
Victim surcharge

Because of
Sentencing Act 2020, s42

Paid to a named body: the Ministry of Justice, to fund victims' services.

Checked 22 September 2026. Source: legislation.gov.uk. Checked by hand 22 September 2026.

Where can you read about each kind of fine?

Speeding and other motoring fines4,375,421 offences a year, most dealt with by a course; fines go to the Treasury.
Parking and traffic penaltiesPenalty levels, council surpluses council by council, and the ring-fence.
ULEZ, Clean Air Zones, the Congestion Charge and tollsThe Congestion Charge is £18 a day.
HMRC penalties and interestLate filing and late payment, the new points system, and what is collected.
Court finesImposed, collected and outstanding, and the victim surcharge.

Are fines about safety or revenue?

The case that they are about compliance

Speeding and court fines go to the Treasury, so the police and courts that impose them do not keep the money.
Council parking surpluses are ring-fenced by law to transport and highways.
Statutory guidance says raising revenue should not be an objective of parking enforcement.
Most people caught speeding are offered a course rather than a fine.

The case that revenue matters

Councils forecast parking income in their budgets and surpluses have grown faster than inflation.
Course fees can now exceed their cost, as long as the excess goes on road safety.
Ring-fenced money can replace spending councils would otherwise have funded from elsewhere.
A large share of penalties are cancelled or never collected, which suggests volume over precision.

Common questions

Do the police keep speeding fine money?: No. Under section 82 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 and section 38 of the Courts Act 2003, fixed penalty receipts are paid into the Consolidated Fund. The police keep a share of speed awareness course fees, which must cover costs, with any excess spent on road safety.
Can councils spend parking fine money on anything?: No. Section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 limits a surplus on the on-street parking account, which includes all penalty charge income, to purposes such as parking, public transport, highway and environmental improvements.

Use this data

The figures belong to the bodies that published them and are used under their terms, listed in Sources for this page; most are Crown copyright under the Open Government Licence. Only our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, published under CC BY 4.0: reuse them, including commercially, if you credit Tekstak Ltd and link back to this page.

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Council parking surplus, England (CSV) JSON Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Open Government Licence v3.0
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Sources for this page

Source	Publisher	Figures as of	Updated	Licence
legislation.gov.uk and official guidance, provision by provision	legislation.gov.uk	22 September 2026	annual	Open Government Licence v3.0 (legislation.gov.uk)
Local authority revenue expenditure and financing: revenue outturn multi-year data set (RO2 parking)	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government	the 2025–26 financial year	annual	Open Government Licence v3.0
HMRC annual report and accounts 2025 to 2026	HM Revenue and Customs	22 September 2026	annual	Open Government Licence v3.0
HMCTS Trust Statement 2025 to 2026	HM Courts and Tribunals Service	22 September 2026	annual	Open Government Licence v3.0
Police powers and procedures: roads policing (fixed penalty notices for motoring offences)	Home Office	1 January 2024	annual	Open Government Licence v3.0

Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, under CC BY 4.0.