Madam Deputy Speaker, with permission I'd like to make a statement on the New Hospital Programme.
As we celebrate 75 years of the NHS this summer we must continue to set up its success for 75 years to come.
At the heart of this is our New Hospital Programme, the biggest hospital building programme in a generation which will help us to deliver on our manifesto commitment to build 40 new hospitals by 2030.
And today I can re-confirm to the House our commitment for 40 new hospitals to be built by 2030.
Madam Deputy Speaker, we made our manifesto commitment in 2019 and in 2020 we listed 40 schemes as part of the New Hospital Programme.
Since we formally launched those schemes we have learned more about the use of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete which is more commonly known as RAAC
And RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete which between the mid-1950s and the mid-1980s was commonly used on construction of a number of public buildings across the UK, including hospitals often on roofs - and occasionally in walls and floors.
We now know that RAAC has a limited lifespan with difficult and dangerous consequences for the people who rely on or work in those hospitals.
I know this has caused considerable concern to colleagues in this House to NHS staff in those hospitals and to constituents who are treated in them.
Madam Deputy Speaker, we remain committed to eradicating RAAC from the wider NHS estate.
As part of the Spending Review allocation up to 2024/25, we allocated the affected Trusts £685 million in immediate support.
But in some cases, we must go much further.
Seven hospitals in England have been constructed - either wholly or in major part - with RAAC.
An independent assessment shows they are not safe to operate beyond 2030. Two of the hospitals are already part of the New Hospitals Programme, namely the West Suffolk Hospital and the James Paget Hospital.
The five remaining hospitals have submitted expressions of interest to join the programme, but are not yet part of it.
Those hospitals are:
- Airedale General in Keighley
- Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn,
- Hinchingbrooke, near Huntingdon,
- Mid-Cheshire's Leighton, and
- Frimley Park in Surrey.
Madam Deputy Speaker, we accept in full the independent assessment that these hospitals are not safe to operate before 2030.
And today I can confirm to the House that we will expand our New Hospital Programme to include those five hospitals built with significant amounts of RAAC.
Taken together with the two RAAC hospitals already in the Programme the seven RAAC hospitals will be completely rebuilt using a standardised design known as Hospital 2.0 the aim of completing all seven by 2030 and I can confirm to the House today that these new hospital builds will be fully funded.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I want to take a moment to thank all those who have campaigned so tirelessly for new hospitals to be built to replace the existing RAAC hospitals, including:
The Member for Keighley (Robbie Moore) who has championed Airedale vociferously.
The Right Honourable Member for Surrey Health (Michael Gove) who campaigned so strongly for Frimley.
The Honourable Member for Huntingdon (Jonathan Djanogly) who has lobbied hard for Hinchingbrooke.
The Honourable Member for Eddisbury (Edward Timpson) who led the campaign on Leighton.
And the Honourable Member for North-West Norfolk (James Wild) and my PPS the Honourable Member for North Norfolk…and the right honourable member for south west Norfolk, who have campaigned so assiduously in terms of King's Lynn.
Taken together, the New Hospital Programme represents a huge commitment to strengthen the NHS estate.
Since 2020, we have committed to invest £3.7 billion by the financial year 2024/25 and we expect the total investment to now be over £20 billion for the programme as a whole.
Resolving the uncertainty over the RAAC hospitals - which today's announcement achieves - in turn, allows much-needed clarity for the rest of the New Hospital Programme.
The Programme has already been divided into Cohorts 1 to 4 with construction in Cohort 1 already started.
So turning first to Cohort 1 Madam Deputy Speaker, there are eight schemes.
Two hospitals are already open to patients with the new Louisa Martindale Building at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton due to open later this year.
And work at Moorfields Eye Hospital due to start imminently, having cleared its final business case.
Turning next to Cohort 2, which comprises of 10 schemes.
The following schemes will now be ready to proceed, in line with the plans set out by their respective Trusts:
- The National Rehabilitation Centre,
- Derriford Emergency Care Hospital in Plymouth,
- Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital,
- Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester
- St Ann's Hospital,
- Christchurch Hospital,
- The Royal Bournemouth Hospital, and
- Poole Hospital - which are all in Dorset.
A further two schemes within Cohort 2 namely Shotley Bridge Community Hospital and the Women and Children's Hospital in Cornwall will also be approved to proceed, but in line with the standardised design elements we are promoting through Hospital 2.0 on which I will set out
