Mr Zeichner described the scheme as ‘desperately needed’ and said that ‘after years of false hope, residents in Cambridge will today breathe a sigh of relief that we finally have a timetable for delivery thanks to Labour’.
There had previously been years of uncertainty as to whether the scheme would go ahead. The New Hospitals Programme, announced by Boris Johnson in 2020, promised ‘40 new hospitals’ but was delayed by years and not a single new hospital had been constructed by the time the Conservatives left office. Upon coming into power, Labour found that the funding for the programme was shockingly due to run out in March 2025.
A review of the programme was announced after the election in order to provide a realistic and affordable timetable for delivery and to give patients an honest, realistic, deliverable timetable that they can believe in.
The outcome of that review was announced today (Monday 20th January) and the New Hospitals Programme has now been put on a sustainable footing, with a timeline that can be met, and a budget that is consistent with the fiscal rules that the Labour Government is operating under.
Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will be a partnership between Cambridge University Hospitals and the University of Cambridge, uniting world-leading researchers, clinicians and industry to revolutionise cancer care. It will combine cutting-edge NHS clinical space with three new research institutes dedicated to fulfilling the government's ambitions around Life Sciences and NHS reform.
Situated on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the hospital will fast-track innovation, detect cancer earlier, treat it precisely and save lives - transforming care worldwide and bringing hope to millions. The scheme will be part of Wave 1 of the New Hospitals Programme and construction will commence in 2025-26.
Daniel Zeichner MP said:
“I am absolutely delighted. Today is the news that residents in Cambridge have been waiting to hear for far too long.
“For years we have been led up the garden path with false promises from the Tories about when this desperately needed scheme will finally be underway in our community.
“It is thanks to this Labour Government that we now have a timetable for delivery so patients finally get the care they deserve.”
Wes Streeting, Labour’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said:
“Since the election, Daniel Zeichner has been banging the drum day and night for Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital.
“The New Hospitals Programme we inherited was unfunded and undeliverable. Not a single new hospital was built in the past five years, and there was no credible plan to build forty in the next five years.
“When I walked into the Department of Health and Social Care, I was told that the funding for the New Hospitals Programme runs out in March. We were determined to put the programme on a firm footing, so we can build the new hospitals our NHS needs.
“Today we are setting out an honest, funded and deliverable programme to rebuild our NHS. I am committed to delivering the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital and to rebuilding our NHS.”
