Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of including the seven hospitals most affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in the New Hospitals Programme at the time the initial list of hospitals was drawn up in 2020.

Ministers and officials have regular discussions with colleagues in HM Treasury on a range of issues.

In planning for the New Hospital Programme, need was assessed based on metrics including: costs affecting estates and facilities; backlog; critical infrastructure risk; unused and unsuitable space; and incidents with impact on services. This list included two reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) hospitals, James Paget and West Suffolk.

The full extent of the safety risks presented by RAAC have come to light since the Programme was formally launched in 2020. In May this year, the Government prioritised five additional hospitals constructed mostly using RAAC and, along with the two already in the programme, all seven RAAC hospitals are to be rebuilt by 2030.