• Government to fund £3.5bn of the £10bn funding gap in NHS estates identified by Naylor – most of this will go on supporting Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (“STPs”) (the local health economy in each geographical region) and on backlog maintenance.
  • The NHS may supplement public capital with ‘other sources of finance’ – whilst emphasising the government is keen not to repeat the PFI mistakes of the past.
  • NHS Providers will no longer have to pay 50% of any sale profits from the disposal of the primary care estate back to the Department of Health and Social Care (“DH”). The DH can now retain the sum to fund STP capital priorities. That should help accelerate the disposal programme of many NHS organisations now they have this incentive.
  • Housing for NHS staff; the new NHS Property Board ‘will bring together partners from all relevant sectors’  to drive delivery of this ambition both locally and nationally.
What this means in practice

This is a much needed response from the Government providing incentives for NHS organisations to achieve value for their estates. It may now be appropriate for the housing sector to work much more closely with the NHS in terms of providing capital for (e.g.) nurses’ accommodation or extra wards, and advice on how to maximise sale revenue. A few schemes like this are already in initial discussions and may pave the way for allowing much needed funding into NHS estates

How can Capsticks help

We have a unique position as we work with both NHS organisations and  housing associations. We are able to support clients in both sectors via introductions, procurement and contractual advice and our long standing expertise in working with NHS estates issues.