The committee said: "The list of exemptions has not changed since 1968. Given the vast improvements in medical science since that time, it is unacceptable.

In 2004/05 hospitals charged £78million for car park use - £63mil-lion paid by visitors and £15million by staff. Committee chairman and Labour MP Kevin Barron said: "The system needs to change. But first we need to know how the charges interact with health. At present, the evidence isn't strong enough."

"It's unacceptable that attempts to save money through more day surgery is resulting in increased costs for patients with high parking fees." The Department of Health said it would study the report.

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