Higher levels of capital investment have been promised for the NHS, but there are still big decisions to be made about the sources of funding and the way it gets distributed. One factor to be taken into account when the Department of Health and Social Care allocates the cash is whether or not a local area has made the most of its existing assets.
There are clearly opportunities to sell off NHS land – particularly in affluent London boroughs – to generate huge capital receipts which can then be reinvested.
Opportunities in the regions will be far more limited, but every sustainability and transformation partnership is still expected to maximise their land sales if they want access to central public funding.
In Greater Manchester, 52 sites have now been identified for possible disposal through a review of the region’s estates.
According to the review, the sites cover around 30 hectares and offer the potential for almost 1,700 new housing units. Assuming planning permissions are granted, the land values are estimated to be around £38m.
Full story in HSJ, 9 November 2018
