Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of NHS trusts have remediation measures in place to mitigate structural insecurities caused by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by Will Quince
Extensive building survey works have been conducted by National Health Service trusts to identify the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in their fabric, using technology to record potential issues and visually identify and log potential risks.
As of 17 October 2023, there are 42 hospital sites with confirmed RAAC. Of these, 18 have been identified since May 2023 following updated monitoring guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers. The Department has published a full list of hospitals with confirmed RAAC, which is available at the following link:
In addition to the 42 confirmed hospital sites, three further sites have entirely eradicated previously confirmed instances of RAAC and have therefore left the programme.
The NHS has a comprehensive mitigation plan in place for hospital buildings with RAAC, including significant additional funding worth £698 million from 2021 to 2025 for trusts to put in place necessary remediation and failsafe measures. NHS hospital trusts were allocated £209 million in 2022/23 and £115 million in 2021/22. Funding is allocated based on NHS trust plans and delivery progress.
We have committed to eradicating RAAC from the publicly owned NHS estate by 2035, protecting patient and staff safety in the interim period, with the NHS approaching this on a risk basis and prioritising NHS trusts of concern. The estimated cost of full eradication through to 2035 will change over time due to several factors and will be considered at each spending review.
Where structural surveys identify RAAC in their estate, trusts are inducted into the national remediation programme. Each site will be different, and just because RAAC is present, it does not necessarily mean there is a high risk.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on installing remediation and failsafe measures at NHS sites in England at risk from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete since 2021.
Answered by Will Quince
Extensive building survey works have been conducted by National Health Service trusts to identify the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in their fabric, using technology to record potential issues and visually identify and log potential risks.
As of 17 October 2023, there are 42 hospital sites with confirmed RAAC. Of these, 18 have been identified since May 2023 following updated monitoring guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers. The Department has published a full list of hospitals with confirmed RAAC, which is available at the following link:
In addition to the 42 confirmed hospital sites, three further sites have entirely eradicated previously confirmed instances of RAAC and have therefore left the programme.
The NHS has a comprehensive mitigation plan in place for hospital buildings with RAAC, including significant additional funding worth £698 million from 2021 to 2025 for trusts to put in place necessary remediation and failsafe measures. NHS hospital trusts were allocated £209 million in 2022/23 and £115 million in 2021/22. Funding is allocated based on NHS trust plans and delivery progress.
We have committed to eradicating RAAC from the publicly owned NHS estate by 2035, protecting patient and staff safety in the interim period, with the NHS approaching this on a risk basis and prioritising NHS trusts of concern. The estimated cost of full eradication through to 2035 will change over time due to several factors and will be considered at each spending review.
Where structural surveys identify RAAC in their estate, trusts are inducted into the national remediation programme. Each site will be different, and just because RAAC is present, it does not necessarily mean there is a high risk.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospitals were built using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by Will Quince
As of 17 October 2023, there are 42 hospital sites with confirmed reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). Of these, 18 have been identified since May 2023 following updated monitoring guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers. The Department has published a full list of hospitals with confirmed RAAC, which is available at the following link:
In most identified cases, RAAC has been found in limited parts of a hospital site or an individual building. The National Health Service has a comprehensive mitigation plan in place for hospital buildings with RAAC, including significant additional funding worth £698 million from 2021 to 2025 for trusts to put in place necessary remediation and failsafe measures. In addition, in May 2023 the Government announced that the seven most affected hospitals would be replaced by 2030 through the New Hospital Programme.
Where structural surveys identify RAAC in their estate, trusts are inducted into the national remediation programme. Each site will be different, and just because RAAC is present, it does not necessarily mean there is a high risk.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to check GP surgery buildings for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by Will Quince
Privately owned primary care estate is not part of the national reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) remediation programme. NHS England has issued RAAC guidance to providers of National Health Service services operating from private premises to advise them to engage with the private landlords who hold the responsibility for surveying and maintaining their own property. In many cases in primary care, the general practitioners are the owners.
The Department and NHS England have engaged with Community Health Partnerships (CHP) and NHS Property Services (NHSPS) who own the proportion of the primary and community estate in public ownership to understand their RAAC risk and the associated programmes. CHP has not identified any RAAC in its estate. NHSPS has identified three sites that are part of the national programme.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department uses to prioritise hospitals for reconstruction related to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by Will Quince
The National Health Service has a comprehensive mitigation plan in place for hospital buildings with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), including significant additional funding worth £698m from 2021 to 2025 for trusts to put in place necessary remediation and failsafe measures, such as propping, as well as to eradicate RAAC in non-whole hospital sites. Further, the seven worst affected hospitals are being rebuilt by 2030 through the New Hospital Programme.
We have committed to eradicating RAAC from the publicly owned NHS estate by 2035, protecting patient and staff safety in the interim period, with NHS prioritising NHS trusts of concern. The estimated cost of full eradication through to 2035 will change over time due to several factors and will be considered at each spending review.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to provide financial support for (a) repair and (b) reconstruction of NHS hospitals affected by the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by Will Quince
The National Health Service has a comprehensive mitigation plan in place for hospital buildings with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), including significant additional funding worth £698m from 2021 to 2025 for trusts to put in place necessary remediation and failsafe measures, such as propping, as well as to eradicate RAAC in non-whole hospital sites. Further, the seven worst affected hospitals are being rebuilt by 2030 through the New Hospital Programme.
We have committed to eradicating RAAC from the publicly owned NHS estate by 2035, protecting patient and staff safety in the interim period, with NHS prioritising NHS trusts of concern. The estimated cost of full eradication through to 2035 will change over time due to several factors and will be considered at each spending review.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what safety checks his Department is recommending that the NHS carry out in Barnet on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Will Quince
NHS England has provided guidance for trusts nationally on how to establish the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in their estate. There is ongoing engagement with trusts on a national and regional level to ensure RAAC is identified across the National Health Service estate. Where structural surveys identify RAAC in their estate, trusts are inducted into the national remediation programme.
The NHS already has a comprehensive mitigation plan in place for hospital buildings with RAAC, including significant additional funding totalling £698 million from 2021 to 2025 for trusts to put in place necessary remediation and failsafe measures, such as propping, as well as to eradicate RAAC in non-whole hospital sites.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate the risk of a hospital building collapse resulting from structural safety issues.
Answered by Will Quince
The National Health Service conducts regular surveys of its estate to assess the state of the building fabric. These surveys cover a wide range of structural assessments. With reference to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), the NHS has been surveying sites and undertaking RAAC mitigation work since 2019 and has had an active national remediation programme since 2021 to mitigate and monitor the risks posed by RAAC across the NHS estate.
The NHS has a capital budget of £4.2bn this year for trusts and integrated care systems to use to address capital priorities in response to these surveys. The NHS already has a comprehensive mitigation plan in place for hospital buildings with RAAC, including significant additional funding worth £698m from 2021 to 2025 for trusts to put in place necessary remediation and failsafe measures, such as propping, as well as to eradicate RAAC in non-whole hospital sites.
NHS England has issued guidance for trusts nationally on how to establish the presence of RAAC in their estate. There is ongoing engagement with trusts on a national and regional level to ensure RAAC is identified across the NHS estate. Where structural surveys identify RAAC in their estate, trusts are inducted into the national remediation programme.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many buildings used to provide GP and primary care services for the NHS contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Will Quince
Privately owned primary care estate is not part of the national reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) remediation programme. NHS England has issued RAAC guidance to providers of National Health Service services operating from private premises to advise them to engage with the private landlords who hold the responsibility for surveying and maintaining their own property. In many cases in primary care the general practitioners are the owners.
The Department and NHS England have engaged with Community Health Partnerships (CHP) and NHS Property Services (NHSPS) who own the proportion of the primary and community estate in public ownership to understand their RAAC risk and the associated programmes. CHP has not identified any RAAC in its estate. NHSPS has identified three sites that are part of the national programme.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of residential care homes constructed with reinforced autoclave aerated concrete.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information about the building or maintenance of care homes in England.
Adult social care (ASC) is provided through a largely outsourced market of commercial organisations and charities and is regulated by the Care Quality Commission.
Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, providers must make sure that they meet the requirements of relevant legislation so that premises and equipment are properly used and maintained. They are responsible for their own building maintenance and there should be regular health and safety risk assessments of the premises (including grounds) and equipment.
Reinforced autoclave aerated concrete is a longstanding issue, and there is guidance available to support ASC sector building owners to identify and assess any issues and, if necessary, to take remedial measures to make their buildings safe.