But the SNP says it is hamstrung by a PFI contract that was signed when Labour was in power.

Ms Glen said today the issue was one of fairness rather than the nature of the contract.

She said scrapping parking charges at NHS hospitals across Scotland, except at three hospitals in Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh, was unfair and discriminatory.

“NHS Tayside has estimated it would cost around £10 million,” she said. “The Government has already found larger sums to scrap charges across the Tay and Forth Road bridges.”

But the SNP’s Dundee East MSP Joe FitzPatrick said he was “astonished” by Ms Glen’s stance and said the blame for the “astronomical expense” of buying out the parking contract lay at Labour’s door.

“Labour should be apologising for their support of a deal that will saddle taxpayers for many years — a deal that will leave the Tayside public forced to continue paying parking charges at Ninewells while most other car parks in Scotland are free,” he said.

“Instead of apologising for these PFI deals which create considerable profit for the companies, they are quibbling about the detail of the contracts which their ministers signed 10 years ago.”

Mr FitzPatrick said whether or not the contract had a buy-out clause “it certainly would have punitive terms to prevent that happening — penalty clauses, which just demonstrates how bad the PFI deals were”.

“This means that to attempt to buy out the company could be astronomically expensive,” he said.