Keighley and Ilkley’s MP Robbie Moore has criticised the Chancellor’s decision to launch a full review into the New Hospital Programme, arguing the project-wide assessment risks “needless delays” to ongoing plans for a New Airedale Hospital in the area.
Airedale General Hospital was included on the New Hospital Programme in May 2023 following years of campaigning from the local MP and the Airedale NHS Foundation Trust. The scheme is set to fully eradicate reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) from Airedale General Hospital by replacing it with a new hospital by 2030.
Since the announcement, the NHS Trust has been working with the New Hospital Programme team, with enabling and preparatory works underway and a business case due to be submitted in the Autumn.
But in a statement to the House of Commons today, the Chancellor said all new hospitals on the programme that had previously been promised will now be reviewed, casting doubts over the 2030 deadline set out by the previous Conservative government and structural engineers. Mr Moore slammed the decision, saying a review was “needless’ given commitments made by Health Secretary Wes Streeting to a New Airedale Hospital.
The local MP is set to meet Mr Streeting in the coming weeks to challenge the review.
Robbie Moore MP said:
“Just days before the general election, the new Health Secretary Wes Streeting assured voters in our community that he was “committed” to rebuilding our new Airedale Hospital. Yet now, the Chancellor has shamefully chosen to put our new hospital on hold, threatening the real risk that it may not happen at all. As I warned during the general election campaign, Labour clearly weren’t being honest with voters about their plans for Airedale Hospital - and I am furious that Labour are using our hospital as part of the Chancellor’s political spectacle.
If the new Health Secretary is genuinely committed to our New Airedale Hospital, then this review risks needless delay and risks putting the timescale of our new hospital back beyond the critical 2030 deadline set out by structural engineers and agreed to by the Conservative Government. This decision jeopardises the future of health services in our area.
Our Airedale NHS Foundation Trust has been working tirelessly with the New Hospital Programme team over the past year to progress plans for a state-of-the-art hospital by 2030 and they deserve clarity from the government about the timings of this review. I have therefore written directly to the Health Secretary to request an urgent meeting with myself and our Hospital Trust to challenge this review and ensure the on-time and on-budget delivery of our new Airedale Hospital.“
