Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of ongoing industrial action on meeting the elective recovery milestone of eliminating 18-month waits by the end of March.

While no formal assessment has been made by the Department, we continue to support the National Health Service to take every step to meet the milestone of eliminating 18 month waits by the end of April. We recognise that industrial action means that services are under increased pressure. NHS England has been working with trusts to avoid cancellations and implement mitigation plans to reduce the impact of any industrial action on the waiting list.

The NHS is prioritising urgent, emergency and cancer care and will continue to do its best to maintain appointments and elective procedures wherever possible. Cancelled appointments that need to be rescheduled will be done so as a priority.