Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of rent under-valuation by the Valuation Office Agency on the ability of GPs to secure appropriate premises to meet patient demand in areas with high property costs.

The Department has worked closely with NHS England to consider the ability to deliver new purpose-built primary health care facilities within the current economic setting.

In the case of new developments, the Valuation Office Agency’s District Valuer Service (DVS) is commissioned by NHS England to offer an opinion on the proposed lease terms and lease rent of these new facilities, reflecting all value-significant attributes of the premises, including the premises location. In arriving at opinions of Current Market Rent (CMR), DVS valuers utilise the comparable valuation approach, identifying the best available evidence which is subject to analysis, adjustment, and weighting in order to apply to the subject property. This is in line with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ professional standard, Comparable Evidence in Real Estate Valuation, 1st edition. The relative value of individual locations, including high value areas, is fully considered and assessed by the valuer when arriving at an opinion of the CMR.

As an adviser, DVS are not under-valuing any schemes or properties, but stating what the local market rent may be, with regard to relevant local market comparable evidence.