Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the policy paper entitled New Hospital Programme: plan for implementation, published on 20 January 2025, whether (a) NHS England and (b) his Department plan to approve business cases submitted by NHS Trusts that are subject to the completion of the site-by-site report process for hospitals with RAAC.

The site-by-site report that has been commissioned on the seven hospitals in the New Hospital Programme (NHP) that were built predominantly with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) will help inform individual development plans, which continue to progress at pace.

The report’s findings are due in summer 2025 and will not impact the business case process for either NHS England or the Department. The trusts will need to follow the business case process as set out in HM Treasury’s Green Book, as is usual for large infrastructure projects.