THE chancellor has confirmed that a 'complete review' of the New Hospital Programme will be carried out. 

Rachel Reeves has given a statement to Parliament on Monday, July 29, detailing the scale of the financial challenge faced by the new Labour government.

The audit of public spending she ordered when she became chancellor is an unusual exercise that has not occurred before.

As part of her statement, Ms Reeves has said that there will be a 'thorough, realistic and costed timetable for delivery' of 40 new hospitals, including the proposed Basingstoke hospital, announced by the former Conservative government in 2020. 

In her statement, she said: "In October 2020, the Government announced that 40 new hospitals would be built by 2030, since then only one new project has opened to patients and only six have started their main construction activity.

"The National Audit Office were clear that delivery was wildly off track but since coming into office it has become clear that the previous government continued to maintain its commitment to 40 hospitals without anywhere close to the funding required to deliver them, that gave our constituents false hope, we need to be straight with the British people about what is deliverable and what is affordable.

"We will conduct a complete review of the new hospital programme with a thorough, realistic and costed timetable for delivery." 

New Basingstoke Labour MP Luke Murphy said he is meeting secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting, in the coming weeks regarding a new hospital for the town, and said the Labour government is “fully committed” to the new hospital for Basingstoke.

He added: “What we need now is an honest and realistic timetable for its delivery.”

Hampshire Hospitals has been promised between £700m and £900m to build a new hospital for Basingstoke and North Hampshire, along with a shake up of hospital services in the area. 

It was announced last year that Basingstoke hospital is one of eight projects to be delayed, and that a new hospital will not be built until 2032.

Then, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), admitted that the £22bn funding for the programme does not include Basingstoke hospital.