Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's timetable is for the completion of the James Paget Hospital rebuild.

The pre-construction activity for the James Paget Hospital scheme, which includes business case development and critical enabling works, is ongoing, with construction of the main hospital build expected to commence in 2027/28 as part of Wave 1 of the New Hospital Programme (NHP).

The expected completion dates for all schemes will be confirmed following the approval of a Full Business Case as set out in the HM Treasury Green Book and is usual for large infrastructure projects.

We have made clear that we will expediate reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) schemes in the NHP, including James Paget Hospital. To support this approach, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has commissioned an updated site by site report, due in summer 2025, to inform decisions on the delivery of the replacement hospitals. The site-by-site report on all seven RAAC hospitals will help inform individual development plans, which includes continued mitigation works as well as addressing the highest risk elements as early as possible through phasing of works. The report will be based on an up-to-date assessment of the safety of the hospital site now, and in future.