Labour has committed £1.2 billion to fund maintenance projects at over 400 NHS sites and 650 schools across the UK.
The investment includes £470 million dedicated to making schools and six form colleges safer: Removing asbestos and fixing damaged roofs.
This comes as part of the wider £2.1 billion investment intended to maintain and improve school and sixth form buildings outlined in the 2024 budget.
Hospitals, mental health units and ambulance sites will see an investment of £750 million to repair piping and electrical issues and improve poor ventilation in many sites, with maternity units being awarded an additional £100 million to replace outdated equipment and improve safety measures and environmental conditions for children and mothers.
The government claims that poor building quality and infrastructure decay led to over 4,000 disrupted or cancelled hospital appointments last year, and the Liberal Democrats found that 49 per cent of people felt unsafe in their local hospital, or did not know if it was safe or not.
The party referred to these findings, calling for a “crumbling hospitals taskforce” to “protect patients from the deteriorating NHS estate”.
Helen Morgan MP, the Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It’s shocking that so many patients no longer trust the buildings they rely on to get better, fearing the very walls they’re treated in might crumble. Patients should only worry about their health—not whether the roof will cave in on them.
“The previous Conservative government’s neglect of the NHS brought us to this disgraceful point. Yet, the Labour government has failed to act fast enough to protect patients from these decaying buildings.
“Ministers must tackle this crisis head-on by creating a dedicated taskforce to drive urgent repairs and safeguard patients.
“We should be rebuilding the NHS to be the envy of the world it once was, but until these decaying hospitals are fixed, patients will keep paying the price.”
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, said: “A decade and a half of underinvestment left hospitals crumbling, with burst pipes flooding emergency departments, faulty electrical systems shutting down operating theatres, and mothers giving birth in outdated facilities that lack basic dignity.
“We are on a mission to rebuild our NHS through investment and modernisation.
“Patients and staff deserve to be in buildings that are safe, comfortable and fit for purpose. Through our Plan for Change, we will make our NHS fit for the future.”
The government has also committed to provide school facilities that are “not just energy efficient but fit for all pupils needs”, building new sports halls, IT rooms, kitchens and playgrounds while repairing and improving existing buildings and provisions.
Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said: “The defining image of the school estate under the previous government was children sitting under steel props to stop crumbling concrete falling on their heads. It simply isn’t good enough.
“Parents expect their children to learn in a safe warm environment. It’s what children deserve, and it is what we are delivering.
“This investment is about more than just buildings – it’s about showing children that their education matters, their futures matter, and this government is determined to give them the best possible start in life.”
A further £1.4 billion will be injected into rebuilding and refurbishment projects as part of the School Rebuilding Programme. The programme, first announced by Boris Johnson in 2021 aims to deliver 50 rebuilds per year, with a focus on schools identified as containing the dangerous crumbly RAAC concrete.
The funding announced at the 2024 budget constitutes a £550 million increase on what was invested in the previous year, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves saying: “This government’s first budget will set out how we will fix the foundations of the country.
“It will mean tough decisions, but also the start of a new chapter for Britain, by growing our economy through investing in our future to rebuild our schools, hospitals and broken roads.
“Protecting funding for education was one of the things I wanted to do first because our children are the future of this country. We might have inherited a mess, but they should not suffer for it.”
Featured image via Monkey Business Images and Shutterstock.
Author: Jamie Calder.
