NHS: Empty Property
(asked on 22nd June 2023) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that an assessment is made of the potential social and economic value to local communities of redundant NHS property.
All sales of surplus National Health Service properties are required to follow the approach set out in Annex 4.15 of Managing Public Money, available at the following link:
NHS organisations decide locally on the use of their land based on their requirements for facilities to support the efficient and effective delivery of their healthcare services. Guidance on this is provided to NHS trusts, including the disposal of surplus land in Health Building Note (HBN) 00-08 “The efficient management of healthcare estates and facilities”.
All surplus NHS property is expected to be sold as soon as possible to minimise ongoing running costs and as such there are no plans to introduce peppercorn charging arrangements for community groups to use such facilities.
Before any commercial sale takes place, details of NHS surplus land are circulated to public sector organisations, for them to express an interest in acquiring. Outline planning permission is often sought prior to sale to maximise the value of the site realised for reinvestment and achieve best value and this will include an assessment of local planning considerations and public and stakeholder engagement. There are no current plans to establish timebound consultation processes for Honorable and Rt Honorable members concerning the sale of surplus NHS sites; NHS organisations are expected to keep members informed of progress and respond to any queries concerning any site disposal.