Lib Dems push for urgent repairs to ‘crumbling’ NHS infrastructure

The Liberal Democrats are set to force a parliamentary vote on Wednesday to challenge the government’s delays to the New Hospital Programme (NHP), citing growing concerns over the deteriorating state of NHS infrastructure in England.

According to new data, the NHS maintenance backlog has escalated to £13.8 billion in 2023/24, more than doubling from £6.4 billion in 2015/16.

This backlog represents the estimated cost required to bring NHS estates back to a minimum expected standard, with the fastest growth seen in the highest risk category – urgent repairs needed to prevent catastrophic failure or disruption to clinical services.

Seven of the highest risk buildings are faced with growing risks associated with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a material widely used in construction projects between the 1950s-1990s which has been shown to be prone to “crumbling”.

Despite this, investment in hospital repairs has declined sharply. In 2023/24, only £900 million was allocated to address maintenance issues, covering just 6.5% of the required funds. This marks a 36% drop from the £1.4 billion invested in 2020/21.

The NHP was introduced by ex-prime minister Boris Johnson at the 2019 general election, promising to build 40 new hospitals by the end of this decade – although it was always unclear whether there was enough funding for the scheme.

The project has been surrounded by controversies ever since its announcement, including questions about how many of the projects were actually “new”.

After Labour’s victory in the July 2024 general election, Health Secretary Wes Streeting ordered a comprehensive review of the scheme – finding that the NHP was significantly delayed, underfunded, and lacked a realistic delivery timeline. In response, the government introduced a revised plan, which significantly pushed back the date of completion. 

In the foreword of the report, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, said: “There were not 40 of them, they were not all new and many were not even hospitals… Most shocking of all, the funding for the programme was due to run out in March of this year, with no provision for future years whatsoever.” 

Under the revised implementation plan, construction projects will be delivered in rolling five-year waves, with the government committing to fund construction in grouped phases, with the most at risk risk sites that were built with RAAC being prioritised with work starting “as early as possible” . However, many other schemes will be delayed, with some not expected to begin construction until 2037 according to the Lib Dems.

Helen Morgan MP, the party’s Health and Social Care spokesperson, said: “There can be no doubt that the Conservatives’ shameful neglect of the NHS has brought us to this point. However, the Labour government has so far embraced the false economy of dither and delay rather than getting on and delivering the change that people so desperately need.”

The Lib Dems point to Torbay Hospital in Devon to show the poor state of the NHS. At Torbay, 80 per cent of the estate is rated “poor” or “bad”. Sewage leaks have forced the closure of toilet facilities, while £1 million has been spent on crash decks to stop chunks of concrete falling on patients and staff. Portacabins installed in 1984 are still used to house laboratory facilities.

A Liberal Democrat-commissioned poll found that one in five people did not feel their local hospital building was safe. Among those respondents, 27 per cent cited fears of roof collapse, and 26 per cent said they worried about rodent or insect infestations.

The Liberal Democrat motion calls on the government to speed up delivery of NHP schemes and create a dedicated task force to tackle the repair backlog across the NHS.

Whether the motion passes or not, the underlying issues are likely to remain a major headache for the government – especially so close to local elections. Many of the delayed NHP projects are located in key battleground councils like Devon and Hertfordshire.