Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average lifespan of hospitals that will be built under the New Hospitals Programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The New Hospital Programme is transforming the way that hospital infrastructure is constructed by using a national standardised approach, called Hospital 2.0. The average lifespan of new hospitals is expected to be in excess of 50 years, and is being designed in line with Hospital 2.0 principles, which will comply with regulatory building standards. This is the minimum expected lifespan, where some elements, such as the structure, will have a longer life expectancy, and other elements, such as internal doors, fixtures, and flooring, may need to be replaced after approximately 15 years. The lifespan of each individual hospital can vary based on external factors such as environmental conditions, maintenance, and usage.
The existing process for approving business cases has been agreed with the Department, NHS England, and HM Treasury, with the explicit purpose of clarifying roles and responsibilities, and where appropriate, delegating authority for faster approvals and for reducing duplication.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral statement of 13 March 2025 on NHS England Update, Official Report, column 1300, what recent steps he has taken to streamline the business case approvals process for the New Hospitals Programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The New Hospital Programme is transforming the way that hospital infrastructure is constructed by using a national standardised approach, called Hospital 2.0. The average lifespan of new hospitals is expected to be in excess of 50 years, and is being designed in line with Hospital 2.0 principles, which will comply with regulatory building standards. This is the minimum expected lifespan, where some elements, such as the structure, will have a longer life expectancy, and other elements, such as internal doors, fixtures, and flooring, may need to be replaced after approximately 15 years. The lifespan of each individual hospital can vary based on external factors such as environmental conditions, maintenance, and usage.
The existing process for approving business cases has been agreed with the Department, NHS England, and HM Treasury, with the explicit purpose of clarifying roles and responsibilities, and where appropriate, delegating authority for faster approvals and for reducing duplication.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospitals in England provide office space to Unison representatives; and what rental charges are paid in each case.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested. Trade union representatives are entitled to time off to enable them to carry out their trade union duties or to take part in union training.
It is important that, where possible, employers make available to union representatives the facilities necessary for them to fulfil their duties, and to communicate effectively with their members. Section 25 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service (Agenda for Change) sets out that where resources permit, the facilities for recognised trade unions should include the use of dedicated office space.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the salaries are for the (a) Chairman and (b) Chief Executive of the new Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested. Information on the remuneration of senior staff is published by hospital trusts as part of their annual report and accounts.
As the Chair and the Chief Executive of the new Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group are both recent appointments, details of their salaries will appear in future published accounts.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he expects fixed sum payments to be awarded to people harmed by Sodium Valproate and surgical mesh implants during 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex area of work, involving several Government departments, and it is important that we get this right. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to create a two-stage financial redress scheme for people harmed by Sodium Valproate and surgical mesh implants.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex area of work, involving several Government departments, and it is important that we get this right. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by Mott MacDonald on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete of April 2022, what recent assessment he has made of whether the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn will be able to operate safely beyond 2030.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care set out a credible and deliverable plan for the new hospital schemes in the New Hospital Programme (NHP) on 20 January 2025, following the conclusion of the review of the NHP. The Plan for Implementation was laid in the House Library and published on GOV.UK website, and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcome
We will expedite the delivery of the schemes to replace hospitals built wholly or primarily from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) by focussing on the most affected buildings and services first. As confirmed in this publication, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned a comprehensive report of the seven hospitals built wholly or primarily from RAAC that are being replaced through the New Hospital Programme, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn, as the last report was undertaken in Autumn 2022 and covered five of the seven RAAC hospitals. The site-by-site report on all seven RAAC hospitals will help inform individual development plans, which include continued mitigation works and addressing the highest risk elements as early as possible through the phasing of works. The report will be based on an up-to-date assessment of the safety of the hospital site now, and in future.
The Department is in the final stages of the contract award with third party contractors to provide an updated report on the condition of the seven critical RAAC hospitals, including Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn. Once the contract is finalised it will be available publicly, including the information on who is conducting the work, on contract finder, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder
We remain committed to removing RAAC fully from the NHS estate whilst working to keep facilities open, with patient and staff safety at the forefront of our decision making.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full-time equivalent officials are working on the New Hospitals Programme in (a) his Department and (b) NHS England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 31 December 2024, there were 25 full-time equivalent (FTE) officials working on the New Hospital Programme (NHP) in the NHP Sponsor Team in the Department, along with 165.4 FTE officials working in the NHP Delivery Team in NHS England. These figures include inward secondments, individuals employed on fixed term contracts and permanent employees, but do not include any external resources such as individuals engaged via third party commercial contracts.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what approvals process (a) NHS England and (b) his Department has for business cases under the New Hospitals Programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Each National Health Service trust seeking approval for their New Hospital Programme (NHP) scheme will need to follow the business case process as set out in HM Treasury’s Green Book. Trusts will need to develop and gain approval for a Strategic Outline Case, followed by an Outline Business Case, and finally a Full Business Case. Following the approval of their Full Business Case, funding is released at agreed milestones. Following submission by the trust, the approvals process is as follows:
- once reviewed and approved by the NHP Investment Committee, NHS England’s regional teams undertake a fundamental criteria review of the business case, which is then submitted to the joint Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England National Capital Assurance Team, where an independent assurance review is undertaken by a number of subject matter experts to ensure it meets the criteria as outlined in HM Treasury’s Green Book, and a report is prepared and presented to the Department of Health and Social Care’s Joint Investment Committee for consideration; and
- once agreed by the Department of Health and Social Care’s Joint Investment Committee, the business case is submitted for onward approval by ministers and HM Treasury, if necessary.
The level of approval required for business cases will depend on the amount requested. Some requests for fees and enabling works, for example, are requested in parallel via a separate, shorter process to the main scheme’s approval process.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the policy paper entitled New Hospital Programme: plan for implementation, published on 20 January 2025, whether (a) NHS England and (b) his Department plan to approve business cases submitted by NHS Trusts that are subject to the completion of the site-by-site report process for hospitals with RAAC.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The site-by-site report that has been commissioned on the seven hospitals in the New Hospital Programme (NHP) that were built predominantly with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) will help inform individual development plans, which continue to progress at pace.
The report’s findings are due in summer 2025 and will not impact the business case process for either NHS England or the Department. The trusts will need to follow the business case process as set out in HM Treasury’s Green Book, as is usual for large infrastructure projects.