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Neighbourhood Health Centres: Public Private Partnerships

Asked by Sarah HallLabour (Co-op)Department of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 11 September 2025UIN 72904

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reintroducing private finance through public private partnerships for neighbourhood health centres on the NHS; and how those proposals differ from previous private finance initiative models.

Answered by Karin Smyth

As set out in the 10 Year Health Plan, the Department, alongside the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, is working on a business case to look at the feasibility of using a public private partnership (PPP) model for Neighbourhood Health Centres, with a decision expected in the Autumn Budget.

Any new PPP models will be subject to market testing and will build on lessons learned from past government experience, models currently in use, and the March 2025 National Audit Office report, ‘Lessons Learned: private finance for infrastructure’.

The Department conducted a successful preliminary market engagement exercise over summer 2025, and this is feeding into the business case.

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