Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of value-based procurement for MedTech innovation for (a) the New Hospital Programme and (b) current NHS sites; and what steps his Department takes to ensure that the NHS has adequate flexibility in allocated budgets to take into account inflation when projects are delayed by 6 months or more.

The Department is developing Value Based Procurement (VBP) Standard Guidance to improve consistency in National Health Service procurement of medical technology in England, and to ensure taxpayer’s money delivers better outcomes for patients, staff and the environment.

In September 2025, the Department launched the VBP Pilots in which 13 existing trusts will test the VBP Standard Guidance. During the pilots, the Department will assess the usability of the Guidance including its effectiveness to procure innovative technology, before publication of the final Guidance in early 2026. The New Hospital Programme is out of scope for these pilots.

The Spending Review 2025 settlement allocated a £2.3 billion real terms increase, or £4 billion cash increase, in Departmental annual capital budgets from 2023/24 to 2029/30. As this is a real-terms funding settlement, this assumes a level of inflation, with capital budgets growing in line with projected inflation. HM Treasury also agreed to grant additional flexibilities, including the relaxation of some ringfences, for the Department to manage capital budgets. This will support systems’ and providers’ abilities to maximise delivery against agreed priorities and measured outcomes.