Tuesday 24 May 2022 10:46 PM Esther Rantzen tells ministers pensioners should not have to use apps to pay ... trends now

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Dame Esther Rantzen has called on ministers to stop elderly people being forced to pay to park their cars using an app.

The broadcaster said many were put off leaving their homes because they were unable to use the technology.

And the 81-year-old urged the Government to introduce a minister for older people to deal with such issues.

‘Because parking your car means independence,’ Dame Esther said. ‘It means that somebody can get out and about who otherwise might be imprisoned at home.’

In England and Wales, 13 councils have made their car parks totally cashless, leaving drivers who struggle with an app or do not have a smartphone with them unable to pay.

Since the start of 2021, council car parks that are cashless or have limited cash-accepting machines have collected £257million in fines. In comparison, £158million was raised in areas where all the parking machines take cash.

Dame Esther admitted that, on occasion, she had simply not paid for a parking ticket because doing so through the app was ‘just too confusing and difficult’.