Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what policy he has on match funding raised by charity fundraisers for capital projects that will exclusively benefit the the NHS.

The Government is supportive of the National Health Service working with the charities sector to identify opportunities for philanthropic donations alongside match funding. We are aware of several successful examples of infrastructure projects either part or majority funded through such partnerships, including investment at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Moorfield Eye Hospital.

Ultimately, it is for local NHS organisations and trusts to identify and agree these arrangements with charitable partners.

More broadly, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan we are implementing several national reforms to the capital regime that should ultimately support the NHS’ ability to work effectively with charitable partners, including on options for securing match funding for projects. These include providing multi-year capital allocations, extending to 10 years of funding certainty for NHS maintenance budgets, and expanding capital flexibilities and autonomy for high-performing providers and integrated care boards. These reforms should enable systems to better plan longer term pipelines of investment, better facilitating and enabling philanthropic and charitable contributions.