Written question asked by Parmjit Singh Gill (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 15 March 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 22 March 2005. It was answered by Lord Hutton of Furness (Labour) on Tuesday, 22 March 2005 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will abolish parking charges for hospital visitors; what the car parking charge is (a) per day, (b) per week, (c) per month and (d) for a short-term stay at each hospital in England.

Answer: Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will abolish parking charges for hospital visitors; [222776] (2) what the car parking charge is (a) per day, (b) per week, (c) per month and (d) for a short-term stay at each hospital in England. [222780] Mr. Hutton: It is a matter for individual national health service hospitals to decide whether or not to charge for car parking and the level of charges in the light of local circumstances. Information on this activity is therefore not routinely collected centrally. Many car parking charges are set to cover the cost of maintenance and security of the car park such as adequate lighting, car park attendants and security officers. If charges were not made to offset these costs the money would have to be found at the risk of cutting patient services elsewhere. There are therefore no plans to instruct hospitals to abolish car parking charges for visitors.

Secondary information