Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting plans to modernise Brighton General Hospital.

The Government has committed to deliver 250 neighbourhood health centres (NHCs) by 2035, with around 120 centres operational by 2030 delivered through a blend of upgrade schemes and new builds. We announced Wave 1 of NHC upgrades in March 2026, with 27 sites across England selected to bring care closer to home and backed by up to £50 million. We are also assessing proposals for a pipeline of new build NHCs.

NHS Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Board has submitted proposals for future waves of NHCs, with proposals currently being assessed against published criteria, as set out in the Neighbourhood health centre guidance for regions and integrated care boards, with final decisions on future schemes yet to be confirmed. Projects that meet the criteria will be invited to develop detailed business cases before any final funding decisions are taken. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/neighbourhood-health-centres/

The work around Brighton General Hospital is being considered and led by Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust. The trust has confirmed that that they are considering the feasibility of a potential hub with residential and community housing.