Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many square metres of the NHS estate are currently vacant; and what estimate has been made of the annual holding cost.

At a local level, National Health Service trusts are responsible for managing their estates and making effective strategic decisions about land use. As such, the Department does not centrally hold data on the total vacant NHS estate or the associated annual holding costs, with individual NHS organisations holding this information locally.

NHS England’s Estates Return Information Collection collects data annually on unoccupied floor area across the NHS secondary care estate. In 2024/25, the reported unoccupied floor area was 47,476 square metres, with an associated annual occupancy cost of £3.7 million. Estates Return Information Collection data is publicly available at the NHS.UK website.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, the Government recognises there is more we can do to support NHS organisations to make better use of the existing estate. That’s why we will do more to align financial incentives to increase estates utilisation and dispose of under-used and surplus land, whilst ensuring existing flexibilities are clear and accessible for frontline NHS organisations.