ACTION FOR SICK CHILDREN PARK THE CHARGES CAMPAIGN

Motion Text

That this House supports the Park the Car, Park the Charges Campaign by Action for Sick Children; notes that a telephone audit of 67 hospital trusts done by Action for Sick Children revealed that some hospital trusts are charging flat rates of around ú2 an hour, bringing a 24-hour stay to around ú50, whilst some trusts only charge ú1 per day, and that the average parking charge for a 24 hour stay was ú8.50 with more than a third of respondents charging more than ú10 per day; notes that for many parents, when a child needs hospital treatment, public transport does not allow them to juggle work commitments and looking after other children; and therefore calls on the Government both to radically improve public transport and to direct hospital trusts to replace unnecessary parking costs with family-friendly provisions for parents visiting a child in hospital.