Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of staff parking charges on recruitment and morale at James Paget Hospital.

No assessment has been made of the impact of staff parking charges on recruitment and morale at James Paget Hospital.

The health and wellbeing of National Health Service staff is a top priority, and all NHS organisations have a responsibility to create supportive working environments for staff, ensuring they have the conditions they need to thrive.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will work with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals, support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the workplace.

All NHS hospitals in England are expected to follow the published NHS Car Parking Guidance. The guidance makes clear that where hospital car parking charges exist, they should be reasonable for the area.

In addition, free hospital car parking is already in place for ‘in-need’ groups, and this includes NHS staff working overnight.