Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that automated payment machines and ANPR systems on NHS sites meet physical and cognitive accessibility standards for patients and visitors experiencing severe stress, reduced mobility and medical fatigue.

NHS organisations are locally responsible for their car parking provision including the technology used to deliver it, such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems.

This includes ensuring that any parking provision is suitable for their sites, and appropriate for all users, including those experiencing bereavement, severe stress, reduced mobility and medical fatigue. As a minimum, mandatory free parking should be available for:

• disabled people;
• frequent outpatient attenders;
• parents of sick children staying overnight; and
• staff working night shifts.

NHS trusts are also responsible for the actions of private parking contractors and should take appropriate action where patients, visitors or staff complain about those contractors.

Further information on NHS parking is available at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-parking-code-of-practice/private-parking-code-of-practice