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May backs possible NHS-owned housing association
Prime minister Theresa May has endorsed a review that urged the mass sale of NHS land for housing development and floated the creation of an NHS-owned housing association.
The Naylor Review was published in late March, but ministers did not respond to it before the general election was called.
A Department of Health spokesperson said it would be for the new government to make decisions on it.
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Challenged in a BBC television interview on how she would raise an additional £10bn for the NHS, Ms May said: “We are backing the proposals in the Naylor report [as one means of increasing funding].”
The review by Sir Robert Naylor, former chief executive of University College London Hospitals, suggested the NHS could form its own housing association to house its staff, perhaps in partnership with existing landlords.
This was because high house prices hampered recruitment for parts of the NHS, forcing reliance on costly agency workers.
“Land sold by the NHS should be prioritised for the development of residential homes for NHS staff,” the review said.
The report sought ideas from social landlords on how this could be done but added: “Alternatively, the NHS could create its own bespoke housing association.”
This landlord could rent homes to staff, or enter into an agreement which enabled the employee to “benefit from a share in any equity increase on their retirement and the property leased on to a new member of staff who could subsequently benefit in a similar way”.
An analysis by consultancy Deloitte, which was part of the review, found some £2.7bn could be raised from selling surplus NHS land and buildings, yielding sites for 40,000 homes
The Department of Health already has a target to release land to build 26,000 homes by March 2020, “but there remains uncertainty about whether it can be delivered”, the review found.
