Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support NHS Trusts with energy and estate maintenance costs.

The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan commits to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise the importance of supporting NHS trusts to manage and maintain their estates using operational capital allocations.

The Government’s recently published 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy set out 10-year maintenance budgets for the public estate, confirming £6 billion per year for the maintenance and repair of the NHS estate up to 2034/35.

Within this overall figure, the Government is providing over £4 billion in operational capital in 2025/26 and has now allocated a further £15.6 billion directly to providers over the following four years, from 2026/27 to 2029/30. Providers have also been given further five-year operational capital planning assumptions covering 2030/31 to 2034/35, allowing them to plan longer term with confidence and accelerate investment decisions aligned to local priorities, including repairs and maintenance.

In addition to operational capital, the Estates Safety Fund, established in 2025/26, will continue, with £6.75 billion investment over the next nine years to target the most critical building repairs and ensure safe environments for healthcare delivery.

We also continue to support trusts to drive down their energy bills and boost their resilience. Since 2020 the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has funded over £1 billion in NHS energy projects. This now being bolstered by the Department for Health and Social Care’s £130 million collaboration with Great British Energy. This is funding solar installations at approximately 260 NHS sites and is estimated to deliver lifetime energy bill savings for the NHS of up to £325 million, with the average NHS site estimated to save approximately £35,000 a year in energy bills.