Robbie Moore: I'll hold Wes Streeting to account over Airedale Hospital rebuild he promised but is now in doubt

After years of lobbying both inside and outside of Parliament to secure our new hospital, millions of pounds of direct government funding already being spent on the project, and our local Airedale NHS Foundation Trust working tirelessly to make sure the project stayed on track for the critical 2030 deadline, the Health Secretary’s words were welcome – however close they may have been to election day.

Yet despite this promise and within the first week of the new Government’s tenure, Chancellor Rachel Reeves put the rebuild our hospital so desperately needs on hold – and our new Health Secretary, seemingly unaware of his previous comments, nodded along.

In my view, the decision to use our hospital as part of the Chancellor’s political spectacle shows two things: Firstly, that Labour were clearly not being honest to voters in my constituency during the election campaign. And secondly, that the new government no longer sees a new hospital in our community as a priority.

Because if they did, they would know that independent structural engineers have advised it will not be safe to deliver essential services in the current Airedale hospital building beyond 2030.

This is, as many readers will know, because Airedale Hospital is predominantly constructed from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a material known for its structural deficiencies. RAAC has been found to be present in over 50,000 panels in the hospital - five times more than any other hospital in the United Kingdom, with Airedale being the only NHS site in the country to have aerated concrete in its floor panels, walls, and ceiling.

Inspections of the hospital also found over 500 incidents of structural failure caused by RAAC, including over 30 cracked panels and falling debris. The hospital currently has wards closed due to structural risk and the associated potential structural failure.

Launching a review risks setting the project back beyond this critical date, and ultimately reveals the incompatibility between the Health Secretary’s statements before the election and the Chancellor’s actions after it.

What is clear is that swift action is needed now if we are still to meet the 2030 deadline, and I will not stand by and allow this project to be delayed or worse still, derailed by the new government.

In the time since this review was announced, I have met with the Chief Executive of the Airedale NHS trust Foluke Ajayi and her team to discuss their plans going forward. The Trust’s plans to finish our new Hospital by 2030 are still on track, and we deserve an urgent update from the Government about what this review will actually achieve.

I have also written directly to the Health Secretary requesting an urgent meeting with myself and our Hospital Trust to request clarity and challenge the review.

I have made it clear to the Health Secretary that any delay to this project risks jeopardising not only the timely delivery of our new hospital but the future of health services for over 220,000 people from across West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and East Lancashire.

Finally, our new hospital will need strong voices on both sides of the House in the coming months, and I have invited my colleagues, Anna Dixon MP (Shipley), Sir Julian Smith MP (Skipton and Ripon) and Jonathan Hinder MP (Pendle and Clitheroe), to join me in forming a cross-party New Airedale Hospital Coalition in Parliament.

Together, we can provide a strong cross-party voice for our Airedale Hospital, ensuring that the hospital is delivered on time and in full.

This is a pivotal moment for our community, and it has been particularly disheartening to not yet have received a reply from the Health Secretary, despite him finding time to visit Paris and turn up to speak at Edinburgh festival - ‘I came literally from the airport in my holiday get-up,’ he says.

The people from across West and North Yorkshire as well as East Lancashire who rely on Airedale deserve urgency from the new government, and I will continue to fight tirelessly to ensure that our new hospital is delivered on schedule as set out by our previous government.

I will hold Labour to their pre-election promise and will do all in my power to ensure that our new Airedale Hospital is built on time and on budget, for the benefit of everyone in our community.

Robbie Moore is the Conservative MP for Keighley and Ilkley