Challenge to £451m Liverpool hospital PFI collapses

A legal challenge to the PFI scheme for a new, £451m Royal Liverpool Hospital has collapsed after legal aid was withdrawn.

Sam Semoff, a member of campaign group Keep Our NHS Public, launched the challenge in the summer of 2010 in a bid to overturn the Health Secretary’s decision to approve the outline business case for the new hospital.

However, at a hearing in November last year Mr Justice Burnett refused to give Semoff permission for a judicial review, stating that he "had no prospect of demonstrating any illegality on the part of the Secretary of State".

The Legal Services Commission has now withdrawn Semoff’s legal aid. The claimant has in turn called a halt to his appeal against Mr Justice Burnett’s decision. A hearing had been due to take place tomorrow (11 February).

Tony Bell, chief executive of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, said work could now go ahead, having been delayed since July 2010.

He added: “We are sure that the people of Merseyside, who have given so much support to the new Royal, will be pleased to hear this news particularly given the length of time this project has been delayed.

“We can now press ahead with the exciting task of working with our three bidders to create a world-class hospital for the people of this city. We can also continue with our plans for the Liverpool BioCampus, which will attract significant investment and development opportunities for the whole city. “

The outline business case for the new hospital was assessed by the Department of Health and the Treasury, with approval given in March 2010.

It was reassessed under the Government’s national spending review by the Department of Health and the Treasury and given the green light on 17 June 2010.

“The Trust followed Government guidance, which firmly established that using a PFI scheme was the best value for money - meaning that PFI is the only funding option available,” the hospital said.