Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is sufficient project delivery capacity within (a) the NHS and (b) supply chains to implement the New Hospital Programme.

Earlier this year, the New Hospital Programme (NHP) appointed a Health Delivery Partnership as its principal Programme Delivery Partner, which is working closely with the NHP to provide the expert technical skills needed to develop the infrastructure and programme delivery capability to support successful delivery.

The NHP remains committed to strengthening its internal capacity, supported by a Knowledge and Skills Transfer Strategy aimed at embedding the self-sustaining knowledge and skills required to increase its in-house resource.

Since 2021, the NHP has undertaken extensive market engagement with industry to build industry interest, assess current capacity, and understand key investment drivers. The NHP launched procurement for its bespoke Hospital 2.0 Alliance Framework, designed to establish a long-term, sustainable, and collaborative supply chain partnership and contracting model that will secure market appetite and investment.

The NHP is currently engaging with industry on the Hospital 2.0 integrated system, particularly the technical requirements, specification, and designs. Three key industry sectors identified to focus on include: designers and architects; main works contactors; and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractors.