The New Hospital Programme (NHP) was announced in 2020, with a commitment to build 40 new hospitals to add to the deteriorating hospital estate by 2030. In January 2025, government confirmed that all schemes previously included in the programme would be delivered, including replacing seven hospitals constructed with deteriorating reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or RAAC. Funding will average to around £3bn a year from 2030, with main construction planned to begin between 2035 and 2039.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in its 2023 inquiry into the New Hospital Programme found no confidence that government would deliver on its promises, while calling for swifter action to address crumbling RAAC in hospitals. It also identified a risk that future hospitals were being designed to be too small, and highlighted the fact that the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) had for some years focused on short-term financial viability in ways that failed to consider the long-term consequences for services and patient care.
The National Audit Office (NAO) will publish a follow-up report in early 2026 examining whether DHSC now has a resilient and credible programme and has addressed the concerns previously raised. Proceeding from the NAO report, the PAC will take evidence from senior officials from the DHSC and NHS England on likely topics including the programme’s aims, and whether schemes are on track to deliver against the government’s ambitions.
If you have evidence on these issues, please submit here by 23:59 on Thursday 15 January 2026.
Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. The Committee decides what information to publish and how. You can request anonymity or confidentiality when you send evidence, but it is for the Committee to say whether it will agree.It may treat submissions confidentially, even where you have not requested this.
Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues.