Overview

This bill aims to abolish car parking charges at NHS hospitals in England and exempt NHS hospitals from paying business rates. It mandates the Secretary of State to ensure the abolition of charges and outlines a timeline for implementation, with exceptions for existing contracts. The bill also includes reporting requirements and definitions of key terms.

Description

The bill has two main components:

Abolition of Parking Charges

The bill makes it the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that NHS hospitals in England do not charge patients and visitors for car parking. Existing charges must be abolished within three months of the bill becoming law, except where contractual obligations with third-party parking providers exist. In such cases, charges must cease upon contract conclusion or review, whichever is sooner. Future charges are also prohibited, with the same exception.

Exemption from Business Rates

The bill amends the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to exempt NHS hospitals from paying non-domestic rates (business rates). This exemption applies to buildings that are solely NHS hospitals or used solely in connection with their operation.

Government Spending

The bill will increase government spending. The exact cost is not specified in the bill itself, but it will cover the revenue previously generated from hospital parking charges and the cost of business rates previously paid by NHS hospitals. The extent of this additional spending will depend on the number of hospitals and the amount of revenue collected through parking fees and business rates.

Groups Affected

• Patients and visitors to NHS hospitals in England: Will benefit from the abolition of parking charges, potentially saving them significant sums of money.
• NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts: Will be relieved of the administrative burden of collecting parking fees and will potentially gain revenue from business rate exemption. They may also need to adjust their budgets accordingly.
• Third-party parking providers: May experience a loss of revenue if they have contracts with NHS hospitals for parking management.
• Local authorities: Will lose revenue from business rates collected from NHS hospitals.

Powered by nyModel