The government’s official watchdog will launch an investigation into Boris Johnson’s claim that 40 new hospitals will be built by 2030, as concerns grow in Whitehall that the promise is too big and has been grossly oversold to the public.
In a move that could prove hugely embarrassing for the Prime Minister, the independent National Audit Office (NAO) has decided to carry out a “value for money review” of the whole scheme, which was a cornerstone of the Conservative party’s manifesto for the general election in 2019
The National Auditor also made it clear he was concerned how the government still claims it will build 40 brand new hospitals, when in reality many will simply be extensions or renovations of existing ones.
In a letter to the shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, who raised questions about the delays and resulting rising costs of the scheme with the NAO, its senior official – Gareth Davies, the comptroller and auditor-general – said he was already preparing a full review of the cost of the money.
Davies also said he had paid “particular” attention to “the implications of the delay on rising costs at this time of high inflation and the question of whether all the projects really fit the classification of ‘new hospitals'”. Davis said he will report back in 2023.
The NAO’s intervention will raise further questions about fairness and standards in the Johnson government after the long-running Partygate row and a series of recent sex scandals involving male Conservative MPs.
On Friday, Johnson’s former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher was suspended from the party after being accused of sexually assaulting two men at the Carlton Club in London. It was a week after their party lost two by-elections, both sparked by sex scandals involving Conservative MPs who had to stand down.
The NAO’s Gareth Davies said it would look at “whether all the projects really fit the classification of ‘new hospitals'”. Photo: The Court of Auditors
Many Tories fear their party is now becoming increasingly distrustful of policy after breaking promises not to raise national insurance, abandoning the “triple lock” on pension increases last year and cutting back on high-speed rail projects in northern England.
The Conservatives promised to deliver “40 new hospitals” in their 2019 manifesto, but it has since become clear that many of these projects are simply upgrades to existing sites.
Last year it emerged that ministers had instructed the trusts to give the public an exaggerated impression of the scale of the projects by calling the upgrade “new hospitals”.
A guidance document circulated to trusts and entitled the New Hospital Program Communications Playbook says a ‘new hospital’ can be a ‘major new clinical building on an existing site or a new wing of an existing hospital, provided it contains an entire clinical service, such as maternity or children; or major renovation and alteration of anything other than the building frame or main structure, which provides a significant extension of useful life, which involves major or visible changes in the external structure”. Staff were told that all schemes “must always be called a new hospital”.
Last month, the BBC’s Reality Check program emailed every NHS trust taking part in the scheme, asking which of the three categories their project fit into. Of the 34 trusts that responded, only five said they were building an entirely new hospital, 12 said they were building new wings and nine said they were refurbishing existing hospital buildings.
With inflation now above 9%, there are also growing fears within the government that even some of these extensions may prove unsustainable. Several hospitals earmarked for building work, including centers in Leeds, Leicester and Manchester, are among those still waiting to hear what scale of work might go ahead and when.
Labour’s Wes Streeting: ‘The only place these 40 new hospitals exist now is in Boris Johnson’s imagination’ Picture: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
Delays in construction projects have already resulted in additional costs for the taxpayer. Leeds General Infirmary estimates the cost of developing two new buildings will be £75m more than originally planned due to delays in starting construction and rising costs of building works.
Responding to the NAO’s decision to launch a review and report in 2023 – ahead of the next general election – Streeting said: “The only place these 40 new hospitals exist now is in Boris Johnson’s imagination. The manifesto promise now appears to be yet another example of the Conservatives over-promising and under-delivering.
“Labour will get value for taxpayers’ money and ensure that every penny that goes into the NHS is spent wisely, delivering better care for patients.”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader and health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: “Before MPs break for the summer, the Government must publish a clear timetable for its new hospital program and explain why it is failing to deliver on its number one promise to health.
“If they don’t deliver on their number one health promise, it will be a total betrayal.”
On its own website, the government says: “Hospitals come in all shapes and sizes and any new hospital will be designed to meet the needs of the local area, staff and patients, now and in the future.”
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, recently expressed doubt that many schemes would go ahead. “The Government launched these flagship new buildings with much fanfare, but NHS leaders are becoming increasingly frustrated that the money is not coming,” he said. “The fear now is that some of these schemes may never see the light of day.”
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