Conclusion 14

NHS Property Services aims to dispose of properties that are under-used or no longer needed. By March 2019, it had disposed of 410 surplus properties with a capital receipts value of £347 million.25 The Department confirmed that NHS Property Services’ release of surplus land has delivered 1,921 housing unit equivalents, as part of the government’s scheme for releasing public land for housing, about 20% of the Department’s total delivery.26 The decision on whether a property is surplus to requirements is made by the health commissioners and clinicians who use the property and not by NHS Property Services.27 NHS Property Services noted that occupiers benefit from disposals, in that they are immediately relieved of their operating costs, rent, and other charges if appropriate. However, they do not benefit from the sale of the property as these receipts are reinvested in the estate at a national level rather than going back to the local area in question.28