FREE HOSPITAL CAR PARKING IN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND

That this House notes that free parking at NHS hospitals in Scotland has helped patients save over £25 million from 2008 to 2015; further notes that free parking at NHS hospitals in England could be as beneficial to patients as it is in Scotland; recognises that the NHS was established to be free at the point of access; regards hospital car parking charges as a stealth tax on patients, staff and visitors of sick patients; and therefore urges the Government to follow in Scotland's footsteps and abolish car parking charges at NHS hospitals in England.