Russian firm Gazprom supplies energy to Wigan's hospitals

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was among several NHS trusts named by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) as having contracts with the firm.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said the NHS must stop using energy supplied by Gazprom.

A senior government source told the PA news agency that Mr Javid has been in talks with NHS England over ending the contracts, which are reported by Politico to have been worth £16m in 2021.

More than a dozen NHS trusts are thought to be supplied by Gazprom, alongside several local councils.

The source told PA: “Sajid has spoken with NHSE and been clear that trusts need to stop using Gazprom as a supplier.

“He has also requested a wider review of any Russian role in supply chains across the health service.”

It comes after Lord Simon Stevens, former head of NHS England, told the House of Lords that “decarbonising the health sector will take pound notes out of the hands of dictatorial regimes that are engaged in acts of aggression”.

Total public sector spend in the UK with Gazprom between 2016 and 2021 was £107m, according to public procurement data providers Tussell.

The organisation said its analysis showed that of this figure, £77m or 72 per cent came from the NHS and £29m or 27 per cent from local authorities.

It said the top five buyers from Gazprom were all NHS bodies, with Newcastle NHS trust topping the list at a spend of £15m, and calculated that Suffolk and Manchester were the local authorities most reliant on Gazprom.

Newcastle trust confirmed they changed gas suppliers in April 2021.

A number of councils have said they want to end contracts with Gazprom and are considering their links to other Russian suppliers.

A Government spokesperson said: “We will work closely with councils and other public bodies to ensure they are able to comply with the financial and investment restrictions on Russia and will engage with them on what support they need to do this.

“The UK is in no way dependent on Russian gas supply and our highly diverse sources of gas supply and a diverse electricity mix ensures that households, businesses, and heavy industry get the energy they need.”

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