Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 120986 on General Practitioners: Contracts, what evidence his Department holds which shows that patients had improved care as a result of changes to Advice and Guidance.

Evidence supporting the use of Advice and Guidance (A&G) derives from national data, local system evaluations and established clinical practice. NHS England data shows that A&G requests largely result in patients being safely managed without needing an outpatient appointment, thanks to earlier access to specialist input. Local evaluations in systems have demonstrated faster access to specialist advice, reduced delays associated with incomplete referrals, and increased use of straight‑to‑test pathways.

Published evidence reviews, case studies, and NHS England’s analysis has consistently found that timely specialist input at the point of referral supports more appropriate decision‑making, improves coordination between primary and secondary care, and reduces unnecessary steps in the patient pathway. NHS England continues to strengthen this evidence base through national data collections and system‑level evaluation.

The Government’s plan to reform elective care is working. In March 2026, we hit our target of 65% patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks, and the waiting list decreased to 7.1 million, representing a drop of 515,000. The National Health Service also recorded its best year on record for elective care, with 506,000 more people starting treatment or completing care compared with last year, taking the total to over 18.6 million in the last 12 months.