Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when a decision will be made on the submitted business case for the Shropshire hospitals transformation programme.

As of 11 January 2022, the Department had not received the strategic outline business case (SOC), as it did not pass NHS England and NHS Improvement’s fundamental criteria review. On 28 October 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement received the SOC from the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust and determined that it required further work and provide an option compliant with the £312 million allocation. Written feedback on the SOC was issued to the Trust on 17 November 2021. The SOC is currently being amended by the Trust and NHS England and NHS Improvement are expecting it to be resubmitted in the first quarter of 2022.