Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) lowest, (b) highest and (c) average daily rate paid to consultants working on the new hospitals programme was in the latest period for which data is available.

The consultants the New Hospital Programme has engaged with have been specialists who have brought highly technical skills, support and experience needed for a programme of this size and complexity. The total spending on consultants to support specific, time-limited, critical elements of the Programme at this stage, particularly the set-up of the Programmatic approach, will enable an overall reduction in Programme costs compared to a traditional approach to building hospitals.

The New Hospital Programme is a joint unit between the Department and NHS England; as such, we have individuals employed directly by the Department and NHS England. The total headcount for the New Hospital Programme is 125 staff either permanent, temporary, or loaned. The Programme does not have consultants that form part of the headcount. There are 149 full-time equivalent consultants engaged with the Programme as of February 2023.

Disclosure of the lowest, highest, and average daily rates paid to consultants could hinder the Programme’s future purchasing position in relation to the procurement of similar services and release would prejudice commercial interests. However, information on all contract award notices can be found on Contracts Finder at GOV.UK under ‘NHP’ and awarded by either the Department or NHS England & NHS Improvement (this does not include individual trust contracts).