I wrote briefly in January about the scandal of hospital car park charges. (I had been insensed to discover that Wexham Park hospital in Berkshire charges £1 an hour, even in the middle of the night.) An absolute rip off.So I was pleased to hear that the Welsh Assembly Government is to abolish car parking charges at Welsh hospitals by 2011.

The BBC reports that the UK health minister, Ben Bradshaw, has criticised the Welsh government’s move, adding that the UK Department of Transport argued the decision went against the British government’s climate change strategy. What arrogant nonsense! They’ll be insisting that pregnant women walk to hospital next…

There’s an argument to be made that Wales’s free parking initiative will use money that could have been spent on patient care. But the UK government’s heavy handed response showed that ministers in London don’t understand the anger prompted by rip off hospital parking charges. Something they should remember next time they criticise gas and electricity companies for their prices.