Let me assure Mr Abaza (Letters, 29 November) that Brighton and Hove City Council is concerned first and foremost with administering Parking enforcement firmly but fairly.

In a city of 250,000 that attracts vast numbers of visitors we need to ensure people can travel easily and safely which means keeping the traffic flowing.

Parking enforcement has an important role to play in traffic management, as it keeps streets clear of obstructions, deals with parking at bus stops and disabled parking bays and, where there are residents' parking schemes, helps people to park nearer their homes.

Unlike other local authorities, however, our contract with NCP includes no financial incentives or bonus system to reward parking attendants for the number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) they issue.

On the contrary, NCP would face a financial penalty if it issued too many PCNs in our city. The council is more concerned with the quality of enforcement against illegally-parked vehicles than the quantity of PCNs issued.

The service is accountable and people can appeal if they believe they should not have been issued with a ticket. Most such appeals are settled in-house.

Revenue from parking charges and fines is used to administer parking enforcement. Any surplus is spent on road traffic safety measures, for example outside schools, and new parking schemes in direct response to requests from local residents in specific areas.

The majority of our city's streets were originally designed for travel by horse and cart, not car. As more properties are converted into multiple occupancy and personal car ownership increases, so does the competition for parking spaces.

If people want more car parks in our city centres, which historic park or square should be ripped up to build a car park?

Wouldn't that money be better spent on investing in modes of transport to get our city moving?

-Craig Turton, deputy chairman, environment committee and Labour member for East Brighton Ward