Buckinghamshire Council is struggling to hire parking wardens to join the 43 it has already, its deputy leader has admitted.

Steven Broadbent, who is also the cabinet member for transport, said: “We have had a challenge in recruitment.”

Despite the recruitment issues, he said: “It is certainly the case that that team are still undertaking a lot of visits.”

Speaking during Thursday’s transport committee, he stressed that it was important to make sure drivers do not flout parking restrictions.

He claimed the Conservative-run council cracks down on rule-breakers by ‘rapidly deploying’ parking wardens on mopeds to ‘hotspots’.

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The council is currently recruiting parking wardens – or civil enforcement officers as they are known – and has five vacancies.

A recently closed job advert by Bucks Council promises permanent full-time wardens a salary of between £25,078 and £26,247.

But Cllr Broadbent admitted that it had been difficult to find new wardens to join the existing 43.75 already within the council’s ranks.

In response to a question by Cllr Jaspal Chhokar, he said: “There has been an ongoing challenge and that continues. But we are reaching out far further to try and fill those spaces.

“We have got another 10 expected in-year, so I am able to grow that from the establishment 43 and a half upwards, so we can emphasise more on the enforcement services.”

The deputy leader stressed that officers also have other duties, such as enforcing parking restrictions at Christmas.

Last year, the council handed out 47,500 penalty charge notices (PNCs) from 261,000 enforcement visits.

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