Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to provide financial support for (a) repair and (b) reconstruction of NHS hospitals affected by the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
The National Health Service has a comprehensive mitigation plan in place for hospital buildings with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), including significant additional funding worth £698m from 2021 to 2025 for trusts to put in place necessary remediation and failsafe measures, such as propping, as well as to eradicate RAAC in non-whole hospital sites. Further, the seven worst affected hospitals are being rebuilt by 2030 through the New Hospital Programme.
We have committed to eradicating RAAC from the publicly owned NHS estate by 2035, protecting patient and staff safety in the interim period, with NHS prioritising NHS trusts of concern. The estimated cost of full eradication through to 2035 will change over time due to several factors and will be considered at each spending review.