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 help ensure empty clinical space in hospitals is put to use.

The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise that delivering high quality NHS healthcare services requires a safe, resilient, and effective hospital estate. This means not only upgrading, but better utilising infrastructure to reduce unused spaces and increase efficiency.

Managing the local capital budget for its area, reconfiguring services, including to address estates issues, and allocating funds according to local priorities, including any necessary investment to bring empty clinical space back into use, are matters for the local integrated care board (ICB). All ICBs are currently developing locally led 10-year infrastructure strategies with support from NHS England, these strategies should consider opportunities to better use space and drive improved efficiency and productivity from existing estates. Any future national capital programmes to support NHS organisations delivering local and national priorities will also be considered as part of the Spending Review process.