Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the projected cost for spend on ultra-low carbon measures for NHS buildings in England by 2030.

The Department of Health and Social Care has not provided targeted funding for heat decarbonisation measures since 2015, nor does it hold a list of any net zero building contracts entered by individual National Health Service trusts. Since 2019, targeted funding for low carbon heating measures has been provided by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, where NHS trusts have secured £1.2 billion in grant funding. This scheme is funded and led by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Alongside this, the Department of Health and Social Care has invested in reducing the NHS’s energy bills through the National Energy Efficiency Fund, with associated decarbonisation benefits. This has provided targeted funding for high-return measures, like LED lighting and building management systems, of £40 million in the 2023/24 financial year, and £95 million in the 2024/25 financial year. NHS England has also provided substantial guidance to the system on decarbonisation issues, including the 2023 Net Zero Health Building Standard, and the 2020 Delivering a Net Zero NHS report.

Looking ahead to 2025/26, we are working with Great British Energy to invest £100 million in trusts’ renewable energy infrastructure across 196 NHS sites, where the average trust could save up to £45,000 on their yearly energy bills.

Spending plans beyond 2025/26 will be determined through the forthcoming Spending Review.