NHS: Empty Property

Department of Health written question – answered at on 3 March 2015.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Tim Loughton Tim Loughton Conservative, East Worthing and Shoreham

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the current value of unused NHS property.

Photo of Tim Loughton Tim Loughton Conservative, East Worthing and Shoreham

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the proceeds of NHS property sales since 2010 have reverted to (a) HM Treasury and (b) the NHS.

Photo of Tim Loughton Tim Loughton Conservative, East Worthing and Shoreham

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on retention of unused NHS properties left vacant after three years.

Photo of Tim Loughton Tim Loughton Conservative, East Worthing and Shoreham

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the value is of NHS property declared surplus to requirements since 2010.

Photo of Daniel Poulter Daniel Poulter The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health

Over the current spending review period the Department has not returned any income from asset sales to HM Treasury and the proceeds have remained within the National Health Service.

It is the responsibility of each NHS organisation to decide how its property is used; decisions about whether buildings are surplus to NHS requirements are determined locally. The Department provides guidance on the management of property owned by NHS organisations in its publication Health Building Note 00-08 The efficient management of healthcare estates and facilities. This states that surplus property should be sold as soon as possible, but it does not make any reference to the period when a site is vacant.

The publication can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-efficient-management-of-healthcare-estates-and-facilities-health-building-note-00-08

The Department does not hold centrally, information about the value of currently unused NHS property. Between 2010-11 and 2013-14 foundation trusts and NHS trusts reported that they had disposed of £684 million worth of capital assets.

Does this answer the above question?

Yes0 people think so

No1 person thinks not

Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.