Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2017 to Question 62721, whether proposed changes to operational costs relating to NHS properties were taken into account in the spending review which led to the his Department's commitment to £10 billion of real terms growth funding for the NHS by 2020-21.

The £10 billion of real terms growth by 2020/21 was announced as part of the November 2015 spending review. This supports the funding requirement set out in the National Health Service’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View.

The Valuation Office Agency did not publish the new 2017 Rating List assessments in draft until 30 September 2016. This signalled the start of a six month period before these new Rateable Values take effect and in which time any factual errors can be brought to the attention of the Valuation Office and rectified.

Each NHS organisation is responsible for ensuring their current rating assessments and any recent changes thereto are correct and for challenging them if necessary. As with other ratepayers, NHS bodies may be able to seek transitional relief.