May backs Naylor Report and vows to sell-off “surplus” NHS assets

Theresa May has vowed to implement the Naylor Report proposals which recommend the government sell-off “surplus” NHS assets.

Theresa May has vowed to implement the Naylor proposals, which advises the government to sell off NHS assets in order to bring the health service budget under control. It could potentially mean £5.7bn worth of NHS assets are sold off to private firms or house-builders.

Currently all NHS land is controlled by the publicly-owned company NHS Property Services Ltd. The report calls for “urgent action to accelerate” land sales and transfer the property out of public hands. The government has said it will rewards hospitals who sell “surplus” land as quickly as possible.

The list of property identified for sale include; ambulance stations, clinics, staff accommodation and trust headquarters.

Theresa May confirmed the Conservatives would back the report if they win the election and told the BBC’s Andrew Neil: “There’s a report that was done on the NHS, the Naylor Report, which set out what was needed. And we’re backing the proposals in the Naylor Report.”

She said it would release £10billion from “a variety of sources”, including land sales, to fund “the most ambitious programme on investment and buildings and technology the NHS has ever seen”.