Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on (a) hospitals, (b) GP surgeries and (c) walk in centres which are (i) clad in flammable substances and (ii) fitted with sprinklers.

As part of the Government’s Building Safety Programme to identify buildings of concern following the Grenfell Tower incident, actions have been implemented across National Health Service trusts to assess the risks of similar issues and to ensure that the NHS estate is safe. All NHS trusts have now reviewed their estate, and where cladding similar to that used at Grenfell Tower has been identified, it has been tested by the Building Research Establishment (BRE). Where the cladding has failed the BRE testing, mitigation action has been implemented by relevant trusts. NHS Improvement is monitoring these trusts on behalf of the Department.

Fire safety checks of NHS facilities, including hospitals, are regularly undertaken in line with legislation and guidance. Each hospital also has a tailored fire safety plan, which includes assessment of the provision of fire safety precautions. Such precautions may include the use of sprinklers.

NHS England has advised that it does not hold data on general practitioner (GP) practices in relation to physical infrastructure. However, the GP contract specifies a number of requirements that contractors must meet in respect of the premises used for the provision of services, such as meeting Statutory Standards on Fire Precautions and having adequate procedures in place to ensure the continuing safety of practice premises and the suitability of those premises for delivering primary medical services.

As walk in centres could be located in either NHS trusts or GP-operated premises, separate data about them is not available.