Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued guidance that parking charges at NHS facilities are (a) equitable, (b) proportionate to the cost of (i) maintaining and (ii) improving parking facilities and (c) not to be used to subsidise clinical services.

Decisions on the provision of car parking are made locally by National Health Service organisations to be consistent with the national guidance provided by NHS England.

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

This guidance requires free parking to the four free groups: disabled people; frequent outpatient attenders; parents of sick children staying overnight; and staff working night shifts. In addition, parking charges are expected to be fair for the area. Where car parking income exceeds the costs of providing the parking, the excess income is invested into NHS services.

Local charging for NHS parking will depend on a number of local factors including the availability and cost of parking, the demands for parking, for instance the pressure of parking from shopping, and the availability of alternative forms of transport such as public transport and NHS shuttle buses services.