Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria are used to determine eligibility for the New Hospital Programme; and whether Birmingham Heartlands Hospital A&E and maternity unit meets those criteria.

In July 2021, the government announced the selection process for a further eight hospitals to join the New Hospital Programme (NHP) and invited expressions of interests (EOIs) from National Health Service trusts.

EOIs were scored against as series of indicators from four categories:

- deliverability;

- better and smarter use of NHS infrastructure;

- fairer allocation of investment and efficient use of public resources; and

- stronger and greener NHS buildings.

This assessment was conducted in conjunction with an analysis of metrics covering estates, finance, and quality from existing national datasets. EOIs were also assessed against regional strategic priorities.

In May 2023, the Government confirmed that five hospitals with significant amounts of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) will join the NHP due to the safety risks posed to staff and patients. Due to the size, complexity, and costs involved in rebuilding the five RAAC hospitals, it was not possible to invite other schemes to join.

There are currently no plans to invite further schemes to join the NHP and the focus of the programme is on delivering the existing portfolio of hospitals in line with the published Plan for Implementation and within the available funding envelope.