Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of private parking enforcement practices at hospital sites on patients attending medical treatment; and whether additional protections are being considered for those who overstay due to clinical circumstances.

No assessment has been made of the potential impact of private parking enforcement practices at hospital sites on patients attending medical treatment and protections are being considered for those who overstay due to clinical circumstances.

National Health Service organisation make decisions locally on how they provide their car parking for patients, visitors, and staff. This will include whether parking services are provided in-house or outsourced. Where outsourced, the NHS car parking guidance 2022 for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts states that:

- NHS organisations are responsible for the actions of private contractors who run car parks on their behalf; and

- NHS organisations should act against rogue contractors in line with the relevant codes of practice where applicable

Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles

It is recognised that the attendance at hospitals cannot be predicted in advance and therefore, the NHS parking guidance states that trusts should consider installing ‘pay on exit’ or similar schemes so that drivers pay only for the time that they have used. Additional charges should only be imposed where reasonable and should be waived when overstaying is beyond the driver’s control, such as when treatment takes longer than planned, or when staff are required to work beyond their scheduled shift.