I would like to begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon) on securing this debate and my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jackie Doyle-Price) on her opening speech, which outlined a number of the key issues, about which we are all concerned and to which a number of Members have referred. I understand and have listened to the concerns expressed, both in this House and by the public more generally, about car parking in our NHS, especially where the cost is high and can be considered a rip-off for patients, their families and, sometimes, NHS staff. That is why we published the new NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles last month, which will lead to new guidelines at the beginning of next year.
Before I address those principles and respond in more detail to some of the points raised, it is important to pick up on the key issue that has been outlined—my
hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock raised it in her opening remarks—which is that, for a patient, driving to hospital is not a choice; it is essential in order to receive important and, often, life-saving treatment. It is also important for relatives and those wishing to support and look after friends and others who may be admitted to hospital through no fault of their own. It is right to say, as my hon. Friend did, that Basildon was a challenged trust, but addressing the challenges of that trust, both financial and in terms of patient care, should not come at the expense of short-changing patients. There are many other measures that trusts need to look to—such as improving their procurement practices, better managing the NHS estate and, in the long term, lowering costs by reducing their dependence on temporary staffing—to balance their books and ensure that as much money as possible is directed to front-line patient care.
My right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Burstow) made a number of important points, including the key one that car parking should not be a cash cow and needs to be seen in the context of the wider sustainability challenge of the NHS, and that many trusts are still paying the price for poor PFI deals that they signed up to under the previous Government. He also asked what role the CQC could play in addressing the issue if parking charges were prohibitive. Of course there is a role for the CQC. If concerns were raised about patients being prevented from accessing the NHS care they needed as a result of prohibitive car parking charges, the CQC could of course make recommendations and raise that with the trust as part of its inspection regime. The power for the CQC to do that exists at the moment, and I am sure the chief inspector of hospitals will be mindful of that as part of the inspection regime.
We had many other good and important contributions, including from my hon. Friends the Members for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) and for Harlow, who spoke very eloquently and outlined clearly the reasons for calling this debate. We also heard from my hon. Friends the Members for Peterborough (Mr Jackson), for South Derbyshire (Heather Wheeler), for Worcester (Mr Walker) and for Hexham (Guy Opperman), all of whom spoke eloquently. In the time available to me, I will do my best to pick up on some of their points in my broader remarks.
We talk about the fact that there are many examples of unacceptable practice in hospital car parking, but it is important to highlight the fact that 40% of hospitals that provide car parking do not charge and of those that do, 88% provide concessions to patients. However, I am aware that there are 40 hospital sites—which is 3.6% of hospitals in acute and mental health trusts—that have charges and do not allow concessions to patients who need to access services. As a Government, we want to see greater clarity and consistency for patients and their friends and relatives about which groups of patients and members of staff should receive concessions and get a fairer deal when it comes to car parking. It is exactly for those reasons that we published the principles that will underpin the guidance that will be published in February or March next year about how we deliver fairer car parking charges, of which all trusts will be expected to be mindful.
I want briefly to outline some of the key points in that guidance. We want to see concessions, including free or reduced charges or caps for the following groups:
disabled people, frequent out-patient attenders, visitors with relatives who are gravely ill, visitors to relatives who have an extended stay in hospital, and staff working shifts that mean that public transport cannot be used. Other concessions—for example, for volunteers or staff who car share—should be considered locally. The list I have given is not exhaustive—we will return to it as part of the guidance we produce early next year—but it is important that we have much greater consistency and clarity from all hospitals about which groups should receive parking concessions and free parking when that is appropriate.