Labour has been accused of blowing millions of pounds of taxpayers' cash amid delays to "one of Britain's largest building projects", a damning new report has revealed.
The New Hospital Programme (NHP), which was introduced in 2020 by the then-Conservative Government, aimed to build more than 40 new hospitals across England by 2030 — a goal which has since been deemed "not realistic" by the National Audit Office.
The ambitious project was later expanded to include a further five hospitals which were built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
In 2023, it was revealed RAAC was prone to sudden failure in hundreds of public buildings, including schools and hospitals.
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As a result, several buildings were closed and needed repairs. However, many are still in operation.
After winning the 2024 general election, Labour increased the number of new hospitals to 60, all of which are planned to be built within the next 35 years with £49billion of taxpayers' cash. However, nearly two years into Sir Keir Starmer's reign as Prime Minister, none have been constructed.
As a result, the scheme has come under fire for its "slow progress" with delays of up to three years, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revealed in its report today.
The cross-party committee found "slow progress to date means the RAAC hospitals will be replaced two to three years later than originally planned, resulting in greater cost to the taxpayer from mitigating risks to patients and staff".
The group of MPs, chaired by Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, has consequently urged Labour to speed up the process to minimise the impact on patients.
West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds is one of the affected sites which are set to be replaced
|PA
Sir Geoffrey told GB News: "This Labour Government came in. They added to the number of new hospitals and added to the money. This is one of our largest building projects."
But the Tory MP for Cirencester and Tewkesbury told Whitehall to "get on and build" as many hospitals as soon as possible.
"But there is a real problem in that they've only had a very small contingency in the early projects, the so-called Wave One project," he added.
"They need to get those early projects built on time and on budget."
Seven hospitals most affected by RAAC have been identified for a full replacement, including:
- Airedale General Hospital, Keighley;
- Frimley Park Hospital, Frimley;
- Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon;
- James Paget University Hospital, Great Yarmouth;
- Leighton Hospital, Crewe;
- Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn; and
- West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds.
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The Government is aiming to build 60 new hospitals over the next 35 years
|GETTY
The "First Wave" is made up of 16 high-priority schemes, including seven affected by RAAC projects, set to replace ageing infrastructure with modern facilities.This phase has a planned spend of £8.9billion from 2025/26 to 2029/30, a noticeable leap from £720million for schemes in what was called "Wave Zero".Civil servants plan to splash around £1billion on maintenance and mitigations alone throughout the project's lifespan.So far, officials have half this on maintenance and mitigations "to ensure patient and staff safety".
They intend to fork out a further £440million while construction has not even commenced, Sir Geoffrey said.
"We haven't seen any of them really being started yet," Sir Geoffrey told the People's Channel, urging Labour to tear down the offending buildings in their entirety.
"We know that they've spent sort of about a billion pounds on maintenance so far, but that's really not money well spent.
"They really need to demolish them, start again and build new hospitals."
The PAC's report recommended the RAAC hospital schemes should be completed "as soon as possible" and should report annually to Parliament on the plan's progress.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "This Government has put the New Hospital Programme on a stable long-term footing after inheriting a plan and timetable that were undeliverable, but we are not complacent about the challenges that remain.
"Single‑room wards are designed to reduce infection and improve dignity and privacy for patients. The evidence suggests they can reduce length of stay and support safe occupancy levels.
"For frail and vulnerable people, hospitals will allow patients to have a guest stay overnight."
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