On 26 June, the NHS Homes Alliance launched a white paper titled “A People-Driven Approach. Delivering NHS homes”.

The NHS Homes Alliance is a collaborative group made up of representatives from the public and private sector, brought together to consider the challenges in relation to NHS staff accommodation and how they might be overcome in order to unlock the delivery of new homes for NHS staff, which is so desperately needed.

We are pleased to be part of the NHS Homes Alliance and to have contributed to the content of the white paper, alongside representatives from NHS Trusts and ICBs, pension funds and institutional capital, financial, legal and real estate advisors, Housing Associations, developers and architects.

The white paper can be accessed here.

In this insight we give an overview of the key features of the white paper and next steps.

Key features

The white paper seeks to build on recommendations from the 2017 Naylor Report - to dispose of surplus NHS land for housing (including homes for NHS staff) with capital receipts being used for investment in clinical facilities. However, the white paper proposes one key difference. Instead of the disposal of surplus land, the emphasis is on the retention and use of surplus NHS land to build affordable, high-quality and sustainable homes near to hospitals and clinics.

Rather than focusing on estates issues, a “people-driven” approach is taken. The paper considers the recruitment and retention challenges facing NHS organisations and sets out some stark figures: NHS Trusts currently report a shortfall of more than 154,000 staff, with that figure only due to rise in the coming years.

The paper addresses constraints and barriers to development faced by NHS organisations, including operating within CEDL limits, dealing with regulatory approvals and the need to avoid taking on any void risk, compliance with NHS Estate Code, and working within the planning system.

Recommendations are made to the government under the key headings of financial, procurement, planning, and design, sustainability, MMC and operations.

Proposed contractual models for the delivery of NHS keyworker homes are identified. These seek to address the barriers to development and offer workable solutions. While the key vision is for the use of the existing NHS estate, the paper also touches on alternative models where surplus land is not available.

Next steps

A cross-departmental joint ministerial taskforce has been announced in response to the white paper. Lord Markham CBE has confirmed he will lead the taskforce along with the housing minister Rachel Maclean, to work through the barriers identified and to support the NHS to streamline the delivery of key worker accommodation.

We are pleased to see the renewed focus on NHS keyworker accommodation and look forward to seeing the results of the ministerial taskforce and continuing to be part of this important conversation.

How Capsticks can help

The team at Capsticks is acutely aware of the challenges facing NHS estates and HR teams in dealing with staff accommodation, and the key importance of staff accommodation in addressing issues as to staff recruitment and retention.

Capsticks provide a comprehensive legal service for dealing with matters relating to staff accommodation, including:

• advice on navigating the legal pitfalls that are involved in managing staff accommodation
• review of existing tenancy documents and training for accommodation officers
• advice on existing contractual arrangements where accommodation is managed by a third party, including nominations agreements
• support for HR teams, including the review and development of employment policies associated with staff accommodation
• advice on all aspects of the development of new staff accommodation.

If you have any questions around what is discussed in this insight, please contact Matthew Hunter or Vicki Moore.