Airedale General Hospital will be removed from the Labour government’s review of the New Hospital Programme, it has been revealed today.
In a letter to MPs, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that the local hospital will now be ‘out of scope’ of Labour’s review due to the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in the estate.
The Health Secretary said the project will continue to ‘proceed at pace due’ to the substantive safety risks associated with aerated concrete.
The health secretary also confirmed that funding had been signed off for the programme until March 2025, calling into question claims made by the Keighley & Ilkley Labour Party during the general election
Local MP Robbie Moore wrote to the Health Secretary slamming the initial decision to launch a review, writing in July:
“Two days before the general election, you gave your commitment to the full rebuild of our Airedale Hospital. If this is still the case, then there is a real danger that a review of the project as indicated by the Chancellor will risk needless delay and put the timescale of our new hospital back beyond the critical 2030 deadline.”
Mr Moore then raised the matter in the House of Commons with Chancellor Rachel Reeves, stating:
With millions of pounds being spent on the project and works well under way, can I seek reassurance from the Chancellor that this new Labour Government will not deny my constituents their right to a full rebuild of Airedale hospital?
Reacting to the news, Robbie Moore MP said
“I am pleased to say that following additional lobbying in Parliament and the continued hard work of our fantastic Airedale NHS Trust, we have now secured an assurance from the new government that Airedale Hospital will no longer be a part of Labour’s New Hospital Programme ‘Review’.
This means that plans for our new hospital will continue to proceed at pace - and my role will now be to ensure the works are completed by 2030, as previously announced.
Since the general election, our new Labour Government have created unnecessary fear across our community through their previous announcement to review the Airedale Hospital rebuild programme.
That’s exactly why following the announcement I wrote directly to our new Health Secretary and raised the matter directly in the House of Commons with new Chancellor Rachel Reeves urgently stressing the need to keep plans for our new hospital on track.
The Health Secretary has also confirmed in his letter to me today that funding was indeed signed off for Airedale Hospital as part of the New Hospital programme by our last Conservative government, exposing the scare-tactics of our local Labour Party during the general election campaign as an outright lie.
It is great news that the rebuild of Airedale Hospital will now continue to proceed at pace - and I will continue to hold our new government to that.
