Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Greener NHS project on (a) patients and (b) staff.

NHS England’s “Five years of a greener NHS: progress and forward look 2025” report clearly sets out that all Greener National Health Service initiatives focus on delivering better value for money for the taxpayer and better care for patients. These initiatives are also strongly supported by NHS staff, with nine in ten supporting the NHS’s Net Zero ambitions.

Every pound the health service spends on energy bills is money that cannot be spent on cutting waiting times and improving care, and this Government is taking action to ensure every penny is saved where possible in the NHS. Ongoing examples of this include:

• Collaborating with Great British Energy to invest £130 million in NHS solar installations with projected lifetime energy bill savings up to £325 million.
• Rolling out of Electric Vehicles. This will save the NHS over £59 million per year from reduced maintenance and fuel costs. As the second largest fleet in the country, the roll-out will reduce air pollution, which impacts some of the most vulnerable patients.
• Securing over £1 billion in additional capital funding through the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. These projects will reduce energy bills and provide a more comfortable environment for patients and staff.