Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his predecessor (a) received requests from and (b) made representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss the (i) presence and (ii) potential cost implications of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) within NHS Hospitals and care homes between 13 February 2020 and 5 July 2022.

As part of the usual fiscal processes, the Department submitted Spending Review bids to His Majesty’s Treasury in the autumn of 2020 and 2021, and each noted a requirement to address reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in the National Health Service estate.

The Department received £4.2 billion through the 2020 Spending Review settlement for NHS Operational Capital to maintain the NHS estate and address safety issues, of which £110 million was allocated to mitigate the risks posed by RAAC in the NHS estate.

At the 2021 Spending Review, the Department received £12.6 billion for NHS Operational Capital for the current spending review period. Of this, £698 million is allocated for RAAC mitigation and eradication in affected trusts up to 2024/25.

Additionally, in May we announced that the seven NHS hospitals most affected by RAAC will be replaced by 2030 through the New Hospital Programme, and that we remain committed to eradicating RAAC from the NHS estate by 2035.