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432397

	registered interest
	date	25/11/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Hospitals: Parking
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 November (HL3659), why no national assessment has been made of the effect of hospital trusts charging disabled people to park their cars, and whether they have made any regional or local assessments about that issue.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Kennedy of Cradley
	uin	HL3911
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2015 answer text <p>NHS trusts have the power to charge for car parking under paragraph 20 of Schedule 4 of the National Health Service Act 2006. Foundation Trusts (FTs) have similar general powers under section 43(3) of the NHS Act 2006. Individual NHS organisations decide locally whether or not to institute charges and they also carry out any assessment of the impact of such charges.</p><br /><p>As part of an assessment, trusts consider a range of factors, including the availability of parking spaces, the existence of alternative transport options and the cost of providing car parking. Such matters vary from place to place and therefore cannot be centrally assessed.</p><br /><p>In addition, as public bodies, NHS organisations must ensure they are compliant with the public sector equality duty at Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. The conduct of equality assessments is a local matter and the outcomes are not collected centrally.</p> answering member printed Lord Prior of Brampton question first answered 03/12/2015 16:01:44 answering member 127 label Biography information for Lord Prior of Brampton
	tabling member	4303 label Biography information for Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

428936

	registered interest
	date	17/11/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Hospitals: Parking
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of hospital trusts charging disabled people to park their cars on those people.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Kennedy of Cradley
	uin	HL3659
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2015 answer text <p>The Department has not made any national assessment of the effect of parking charges on specific groups. Decisions on hospital car parking, including charging, are taken locally by National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts.</p><br /><p>On 23 August, 2014, the Department published the <em>NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles</em>, which set out a nationally consistent approach for hospitals to take to car parking and concessionary charges. Disabled people are explicitly mentioned as a group who should receive free or concessionary parking. The principles are:</p><br /><p>“NHS organisations should work with their patients and staff, local authorities and public transport providers to make sure that users can get to the site (and park if necessary) as safely, conveniently and economically as possible.<sup>1</sup></p><br /><p>Charges should be reasonable for the area.</p><p>Concessions, including free or reduced charges or caps, should be available for the following groups:</p><ul><li>disabled people<sup>2</sup></li><li>frequent outpatient attenders</li><li>visitors with relatives who are gravely ill, or carers<sup>3</sup> of such people</li><li>visitors to relatives who have an extended stay in hospital, or carers<sup>3</sup> of such people</li><li>carers<sup>3</sup> of people in the above groups where appropriate</li><li>staff working shifts that mean public transport cannot be used</li></ul><br /><p>Other concessions, eg for volunteers or staff who car-share, should be considered locally.</p><br /><p>Priority for staff parking should be based on need, eg staff whose daily duties require them to travel by car.<sup>4</sup></p><br /><p>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<sup>5 </sup>and should be waived when overstaying is beyond the driver’s control (eg when treatment takes longer than planned, or when staff are required to work beyond their scheduled shift).</p><br /><p>Details of charges, concessions and additional charges should be well publicised including at car park entrances, wherever payment is made and inside the hospital. They should also be included on the hospital website and on patient letters and forms, where appropriate.</p><br /><p>NHS trusts should publish:</p><ul><li>their parking policy</li><li>their implementation of the NHS car parking principles</li><li>financial information relating to their car parking</li><li>summarised complaint information on car parking and actions taken in response</li></ul><br /> Contracted-out car parking<p>NHS organisations are responsible for the actions of private contractors who run car parks on their behalf.</p><p>NHS organisations should act against rogue contractors in line with the relevant codes of practice<sup>6 </sup>where applicable.</p><p>Contracts should not be let on any basis that incentivises additional charges, eg ‘income from parking charge notices only’.”</p><br /><p>To help NHS organisations deliver the above principles the Department published <em>NHS Car Parking Management: Environment and Sustainability (HTM 07-03)</em> on 25 March 2015. This guidance is attached.</p><br /><p>Both documents make it clear that National Health Service organisations should work with patients, staff, visitors, local authorities and public transport providers when planning their parking provision.</p><p><em>Notes:</em></p><ol><li>Each site is different and very few will be able to provide spaces for everyone who needs one. Since 2010, national planning policy no longer imposes maximum parking standards on development, and no longer recommends the use of car parking charges as a demand management measure to discourage car use.</li></ol><br /><ol start="2"><li>Consideration should be given to the needs of people with temporary disabilities as well as Blue Badge holders.</li></ol><br /><ol start="3"><li>Carers are those as identified in the following:</li></ol><p>(i) Care Act 2014 section 10(3)</p><p>(ii) Children and Families Act 2014 section 96</p><p>(iii) Children and Families Act 2014 section 97</p><p>(iv) Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995</p><br /><ol start="4"><li>Such staff might include nurses or therapists who visit patients at home. Routine travel between hospital sites might more sensibly be managed by providing internal transport.</li></ol><br /><ol start="5"><li>‘Reasonable’ implementation of additional charges practice might include additional charges for people who do not have legitimate reasons for parking (eg commuters), or who persistently flout parking regulations (eg blocking entrances). A period of grace should normally be applied before a parking charge notice is issued.</li></ol><br /><ol start="6"><li>There are two trade associations: the British Parking Association and the Independent Parking Committee. If the car park operator is a member of either, their relevant code applies and an appeals service is available to motorists. NHS organisations should consider imposing a requirement for contractors to be members of such an association.</li></ol><p><strong></strong></p> answering member printed Lord Prior of Brampton attachment 1 file name HL3659 - Car Parking Principles scan.pdf title Car Parking principles 2 file name HTM 07 03 NHS car parking management.pdf title Car Parking management question first answered 23/11/2015 15:09:43 answering member 127 label Biography information for Lord Prior of Brampton
	tabling member	4303 label Biography information for Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

1128045

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	hansard heading	Hospitals: Parking
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	If she will hold discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on the abolition of hospital car parking charges in Northern Ireland.
	tabling member constituency	Harlow
	tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
	uin	910963
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The matter of hospital car parking is devolved in Northern Ireland and it would not be appropriate for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to intervene.</p><p><br>In the absence of devolved government it remains for NI Permanent Secretaries to take the decisions they believe necessary in line with the guidance the Secretary of State set out last November, to keep the country running.</p> answering member constituency Weston-super-Mare answering member printed John Penrose question first answered 22/05/2019 14:00:54 answering member 1584 label Biography information for John Penrose
	tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

861938

	registered interest
	date	14/03/2018
	answering body	Wales Office
	answering dept id	28
	answering dept short name	Wales
	answering dept sort name	Wales
	hansard heading	Hospitals: Parking
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the abolition of hospital car parking charges in Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Harlow
	tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
	uin	904285
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2018 answer text <p>I have not discussed this matter with the Welsh Government.</p><p>The responsibility for car parking charges in Wales is devolved to the Welsh Government and decisions on whether to waive charges are entirely for the Welsh Government.</p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 14/03/2018 17:32:54 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
	tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

416412

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Hospitals: Parking
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to tackle expensive hospital car parking charges since the publication of its ground rules in August 2014.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	8619
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2015 answer text <p>Decisions on hospital car parking, including charging, are taken locally as National Health Service organisations have the autonomy to make decisions that best suit their local circumstances. However the NHS patient visitor and staff car parking principles published by the Department on 23 August 2014 provide clear direction and leadership and require NHS organisations to publish details of their car parking arrangements including financial information relating to the charges and income which allows patients and the public to hold the NHS locally to account where unfair parking charges occur.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>Information about the cost and availability of car parking across the NHS is published annually as part of two data collections - the Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment and the Estates Return Information Collection. This information is publicly available and will also help people hold their local hospitals to account.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 14/09/2015 15:58:32 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

416602

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Hospitals: Parking
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to review NHS organisations' responses to the Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment and whether (a) they provide car parking charge concessions in accordance with the NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles and (b) information about the concessionary scheme is prominently publicised.
	tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
	tabling member printed	Tom Brake
	uin	8440
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2015 answer text <p>The National Health Service patient, visitor and staff car parking principles, published on 23 August 2014, ask NHS hospitals to publish:</p><p> </p><p>- their parking policy;</p><p> </p><p>- their implementation of the NHS car parking principles;</p><p> </p><p>- financial information relating to their car parking arrangements; and</p><p> </p><p>- summarised complaint information on car parking and actions taken in response.</p><p> </p><p>We expect this information to be displayed prominently on trust websites so that patients and the public can hold the NHS locally to account where unfair parking charges and practices remain in place.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Results from the 2015 Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (someished car parking princioplesll NHS organisations to take steps to ensurePLACE) collection show that over 75% of sites that charge for car parking currently operate a concessions scheme and display it prominently. We are disappointed that this means a number of hospital boards have not yet decided to follow the best practice set out in the principles.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>To check compliance with the principles, the same PLACE questions will be asked in 2016 and we expect to see an improvement in the results.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 14/09/2015 14:45:23 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

416600

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Hospitals: Parking
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure NHS organisations implement guidance that car parking concessions should be available to (a) visitors with relatives who are gravely ill and (b) visitors to relatives who have an extended stay in hospital.
	tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
	tabling member printed	Tom Brake
	uin	8411
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2015 answer text <p>The Department published National Health Service patient, visitor and staff car parking principles on 23 August 2014. These principles made it clear that NHS trusts should provide concessions for several groups including visitors with relatives who are gravely ill and visitors to relatives who have an extended stay in hospital. They make it clear that NHS trusts should publish:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>- their parking policy;</p><p> </p><p>- their implementation of the NHS car parking principles;</p><p> </p><p>- financial information relating to their car parking arrangements; and</p><p> </p><p>- summarised complaint information on car parking and actions taken in response.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In line with our policy of making all key information transparently available to patients, our expectation is that this information including information on concessions will be displayed prominently on trust websites so that patients and the public can hold the NHS locally to account where unfair parking charges and practices remain in place.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Health and Social Care Information Centre collects information annually via the Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) on behalf of the Department on NHS compliance with these principles, including the provision of concessions. The published results provide assurance to patients and the public that NHS organisations are complying with the Principles.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>To help NHS organisations deliver the above principles the Department published NHS Car Parking Management: Environment and Sustainability (HTM 07-03) on 25 March 2015.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 14/09/2015 14:52:12 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

416154

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Hospitals: Parking
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to set conditions for the financing of (a) NHS trusts and (b) NHS Foundations Trusts to ensure that these bodies implement the NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles.
	tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
	tabling member printed	Tom Brake
	uin	8396
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2015 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>National Health Service organisations have the freedom to make decisions on their car parking to reflect their local situation and needs. The car parking principles provide clear direction and leadership but a central interference in these freedoms would not help NHS trusts and could result in unwarranted interference in how their clinical services are locally managed and delivered.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The powers available to the Secretary of State for Health under Section 42 of the NHS Act 2006 to provide funding to NHS organisations in distress are not appropriate for car parking. There are no other levers or other conditions available for the financing of NHS organisations to implement the NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 14/09/2015 16:21:03 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

755850

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2017
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Hospitals: Parking
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to exempt NHS staff from hospital car parking charges when they are at work.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	7466
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2017 answer text <p>National Health Service trusts make decisions locally about the provision of car parking to patients, visitors and staff. Providing car parking results in NHS trusts incurring costs for equipment, signage, lighting, insurance, security, administration and maintenance. Charges are used to cover these costs which would otherwise fall on the provider and would be likely to impact on its provision of clinical care.</p><p>The Department published clear guidelines (car parking principles) for NHS organisations that they are expected to follow. Hospitals should put concessions in place for those who most need help including disabled people, carers and staff who work shifts. The NHS itself is responsible for ensuring that charges are fairly applied. Patients, visitors and staff who have concerns around problems with car parking should therefore contact the NHS organisation which runs the car park.</p> answering member constituency Ludlow answering member printed Mr Philip Dunne question first answered 08/09/2017 11:36:40 answering member 1542 label Biography information for Philip Dunne
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

715683

	registered interest
	date	30/03/2017
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Hospitals: Parking
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to make concessions available to reduce hospital car-parking charges for unwaged student nurses.
	tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
	uin	70175
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2017 answer text <p>National Health Service trusts make decisions locally about the provision of car parking to patients, visitors and staff. Providing car parking results in NHS trusts incurring costs for equipment, signage, lighting, insurance, security, administration and maintenance. This money could otherwise be used to provide clinical care to patients. Therefore, decisions about charging staff for parking need to be carefully considered by NHS trusts in this context.</p> answering member constituency Ludlow answering member printed Mr Philip Dunne question first answered 24/04/2017 15:13:26 answering member 1542 label Biography information for Philip Dunne
	tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds