Doubt has been cast on whether a crumbling hospital which serves parts of East Lancashire will be rebuilt – with the Chancellor of the Exchequer saying the scheme was 'unfunded'. 

Airedale Hospital, in Steeton, West Yorkshire, close to towns such as Barnoldswick and Colne, opened in 1970 and serves 220,000 people living in the Bradford and Craven districts and parts of East Lancs.

However, the majority of the hospital’s walls, floors and roofs were built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which has dominated headlines due to fears buildings with it could collapse after a 30-year lifespan.

In May 2023, the government announced it had been added to the New Hospitals Programme and a new hospital would be built on the current site.

But on Monday Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was making “difficult decisions” as she accused the previous government of leaving £21.9 billion of unfunded commitments that it had “covered up from the country”.

In a statement to Parliament, she set out “immediate action” to address the shortfall by £5.5 billion, with the rest of the gap to be addressed at Labour's first Budget in more than 14 years on October 30.

As part of this, she said the Tory plan to build 40 new hospitals would be subject to a “complete review”.

Robbie Moore, Conservative MP for Keighley and Ilkley, has sought reassurance from the Chancellor that the rebuild would go ahead.

Speaking in the House of Commons, he said: “During the general election campaign, the now new health secretary and the local Labour party in Keighley and Ilkley told my constituents they were fully committed to delivering the full rebuild of Airedale Hospital.”

Mr Moore added: "Following my efforts to secure the full funds, with millions of pounds now being spent on the project and works well underway, can I seek reassurance from the Chancellor that this new Labour government will not deny my constituents their right for a full, new rebuild of the Airedale Hospital?”

In response, the Chancellor said: “The Honourable Gentleman [said] he has secured the funds.

"He did not secure the funds, the money was not there, which is why I’m having to make this statement today.

“I share his frustration and anger, but that frustration and anger should be with the previous government which did not fund these schemes.”

Mr Moore could be seen shaking his head following the exchange. 

'We need to be straight with the public about what is affordable'

The New Hospitals Programme, announced four years ago by the Conservatives under then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, committed to the construction of 40 new hospitals in England by 2030.

The policy was shrouded in criticism from the start, with the term 'new hospitals' including extensions or renovations to existing sites, rather than meaning 40 new full hospitals being created.

Ms Reeves told the House of Commons the previous government maintained the commitment “without anywhere close” to the cash needed to deliver it.

“In October 2020, the Government announced that 40 new hospitals would be by 2030,” she said.

“Since then, only one new project has opened to patients and only six have started their main construction activity.

“The National Audit Office was clear that delivery was widely off track.

“But since coming into office, it’s become clear that the previous government continued to maintain its commitment to 40 hospitals without anywhere close to the funding required to deliver them.”

Last June, a National Audit Office report found delays in projects meant the target of 40 new hospitals was not likely to be met.

By the watchdog’s analysis, 32 hospitals in England classed as new by the definition the Government first used are set to be completed in 2030.

Ms Reeves added: “We need to be straight to the British people about what is deliverable and what is affordable."

“So, we will conduct a complete review of the New Hospital Programme with a thorough, realistic and positive timetable for delivery.”