Will sums add up on parking charges?

The question of paying to park at Ninewells Hospital has long been a cause for vexation among patients, staff and visitors. While the Scottish Government earned well deserved plaudits for scrapping similar charges across the country, NHS Tayside’s main hospital in Dundee is one of three which remain locked into PFI agreements and so the costs remain.

In fairness to the SNP, the controversial private finance deals were signed when their predecessors were in power.

But the current government has long argued that the cost of withdrawing from the arrangements would be so prohibitive to the public purse that they will have to run their course.

So the comments by economist Richard Marsh, suggesting the price of pulling out of the Ninewells deal could be much lower than the tens of millions previously discussed, must surely merit some scrutiny.

Mr Marsh is not merely a casual observer. The Fife-based consultant’s distinguished CV includes the role of adviser to the Scottish Government.

When The Courier put the detail of his calculations to Holyrood, the response was non-committal rather than flat-out rejection.

The devil may yet lie in the detail but the prospect will bring hope to the many people who have signed petitions, staged protests and quietly paid up over the years.