The National Audit Office (NAO) has published an update on the New Hospital Programme, saying the government’s reset has created a more credible long-term plan, with the final hospitals now expected to complete in 2045–46. The programme covers 41 schemes delivered in four waves over the next 20 years, with five schemes already complete when the programme was reset in January 2025.
Funding and phasing are now clearer. The NAO sets out around £56bn of estimated total capital funding requirement and notes allocations rising from around £2bn a year (2025–26 to 2029–30) to £3bn a year from 2030–31. Total funding for all 46 schemes now stands at £60bn, including £56bn capital and a £12bn contingency to reflect inflation, market pressures and complexity.
Delivery risk remains the headline. The NAO stress that the next five years are critical, with a tight construction schedule and limited contingency. Key milestones include the Hospital 2.0 alliance contract now expected in early 2026 and the standard design work due to complete by April 2026.
The most immediate safety-led pressure point is RAAC. Despite being prioritised, replacements for seven RAAC hospitals are not expected to open until 2032–33, missing the original recommended 2030 deadline. The NAO notes that by 2025 more than £500m had been spent preventing structural failure, and that trusts could face £100m–£140m a year in extra maintenance costs while ageing buildings remain in use.
The reset leans heavily on Hospital 2.0, designed to standardise layouts and improve buildability. The NAO highlights intended features such as single-patient rooms, shorter walking distances for staff, and paperless patient records, and states DHSC assumes overnight bed numbers rise by an average of 6% across 28 Hospital 2.0 schemes.
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said:
“The reset of the New Hospital Programme gives the Department a firmer platform to deliver long-term improvements, and its ambition to transform hospital infrastructure has real potential provided designs are rigorously tested and programme delivery is well managed.”
New Hospital Programme – project starts and completions
Read the full story → £56bn hospital programme on track but delivery risks remain.
CANDIDATES.
Discover jobs.
Finding you a job is our job, no one knows our sectors like we do. Sourcing talent and working with global clients for 13+ years gives us the competitive edge.