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Free hospital parking to end for NHS staff in England, government says Confusion over whether free hospital parking for NHS staff to end in England
(about 11 hours later)
Only ‘key patient groups and staff in certain circumstances’ will be exempt from fees as pandemic eases Senior Tory rejects claim any decision has been made on fees as pandemic eases
Free hospital parking for NHS staff in England will end in all but “certain circumstances” once the coronavirus pandemic begins to ease, the government has said. A senior Tory has sparked confusion over whether free hospital parking for NHS staff in England is to end after she rejected the idea and claimed no decision had been made.
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, announced on 25 March that the government would cover the costs of car parking for NHS staff who he said were “going above and beyond every day” at hospitals in England. Nicky Morgan, a former cabinet minister, said there was “no foundation” to reports that the charges for staff, which had been waived during the coronavirus pandemic, would cease.
But the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said the free parking will continue only for “key patient groups and NHS staff in certain circumstances” as the pandemic eases, although no further timeline has been given. This i newspaper had reported that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said free parking would continue only for “key patient groups and NHS staff in certain circumstances” as the pandemic eases.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has said to reintroduce charges while the virus is still being fought would be “a rebuff to the immense efforts of staff across the country and the sacrifices they have made to keep others safe”. The health minister Edward Argar wrote in a statement on 3 July that nothing had changed on free parking for staff, but that it had only been made possible by support from local authorities and independent providers and “this support cannot continue indefinitely”.
Last week, Edward Argar, the health minister, said the support to make free parking available “cannot continue indefinitely” and added that the government was looking at how long it would “need” to go on. Lady Morgan, who served as Boris Johnson’s culture secretary and is a former Treasury select committee chair, told the BBC: “We’re all reacting to a decision that’s not even on the table, as far as I’m aware.
Responding on Friday to a written question from Labour’s Rachael Maskell, he said: “The provision of free parking for National Health Service staff by NHS Trusts has not ended and nothing has changed since the announcement on 25 March. However, free parking for staff has only been made possible by support from local authorities and independent providers and this support cannot continue indefinitely.” “Car parking charges in hospitals is a hot potato and has been for a long time. There are always going to be tricky decisions that have to be taken in relation to budgets by a hospital trust, by the government and others, but I think reacting to a story – there is no foundation in it – is something I hope people are not going to be worrying about today.”
Argar said the government wanted to be able to make good on its promise of free hospital parking for the disabled, frequent outpatient attendees, parents of sick children who are staying overnight and nightshift workers. In an earlier interview with Sky, she said stopping the free parking would be a strange decision given how hard NHS and care staff had been working.
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, announced on 25 March that the government would cover the costs of car parking for NHS staff, who he said were “going above and beyond every day” at hospitals in England.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has said reintroducing charges while the virus is still being fought would be “a rebuff to the immense efforts of staff across the country and the sacrifices they have made to keep others safe”.
Argar said the government wanted to be able to make good on its promise of free hospital parking for disabled people, frequent outpatient attendees, parents of sick children who are staying overnight and nightshift workers.
He said: “Implementation of this commitment has been on hold whilst the NHS has been managing the Covid-19 pandemic and devoting its hospital parking capacity to staff and other facilities necessary for managing the pandemic.”He said: “Implementation of this commitment has been on hold whilst the NHS has been managing the Covid-19 pandemic and devoting its hospital parking capacity to staff and other facilities necessary for managing the pandemic.”
In response to another question from Labour’s Zarah Sultana, also answered on Friday, Argar said the government was “considering how long free parking for National Health Service staff will need to continue, recognising that this has only been made possible by external support from local authorities and independent sector providers”.In response to another question from Labour’s Zarah Sultana, also answered on Friday, Argar said the government was “considering how long free parking for National Health Service staff will need to continue, recognising that this has only been made possible by external support from local authorities and independent sector providers”.
He added: “The government’s focus remains on ensuring the commitment of free parking for the groups identified in their announcement of 27 December 2019 is implemented once the pandemic abates.”He added: “The government’s focus remains on ensuring the commitment of free parking for the groups identified in their announcement of 27 December 2019 is implemented once the pandemic abates.”
The Liberal Democrat leadership candidate Layla Moran said NHS workers must not be “saddled with extortionate parking charges” and said removing charges for staff had been “the right move”.The Liberal Democrat leadership candidate Layla Moran said NHS workers must not be “saddled with extortionate parking charges” and said removing charges for staff had been “the right move”.
She said: “Our healthcare workers deserved to have certainty that they could get to work without extra charges or hassle. Now the government must provide clarity and ensure our workers are not saddled with extortionate parking charges.” Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the BMA council chair, said: “The government’s decision to waive parking charges during Covid-19 was a welcome announcement, but to reinforce them, before we’ve even won the fight against this virus, is a rebuff to the immense efforts of staff across the country and the sacrifices they have made to keep others safe.”
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair, said: “The BMA has always believed that it is unacceptable for staff who serve in our health service to be required to pay significant amounts of money to park their car in hospital grounds. This is even more salient as the nation recognises the immeasurable contribution of healthcare workers in fighting this pandemic.
“The government’s decision to waive parking charges during Covid-19 was a welcome announcement, but to reinforce them, before we’ve even won the fight against this virus, is a rebuff to the immense efforts of staff across the country and the sacrifices they have made to keep others safe.”
A DHSC spokeswoman said: “We want to make sure NHS staff can travel safely to work during the pandemic, which is why we requested that the NHS make parking free for staff, and that local authorities do the same with their car parks.A DHSC spokeswoman said: “We want to make sure NHS staff can travel safely to work during the pandemic, which is why we requested that the NHS make parking free for staff, and that local authorities do the same with their car parks.
“When the pandemic begins to ease, the NHS will continue to provide free hospital car parking to key patient groups and NHS staff in certain circumstances. We will provide further updates on this in due course.”“When the pandemic begins to ease, the NHS will continue to provide free hospital car parking to key patient groups and NHS staff in certain circumstances. We will provide further updates on this in due course.”