Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the allocation of holding appointments on the reporting of NHS waiting list figures.

No formal assessment has been made of the potential impact of the allocation of holding appointments on the reporting of National Health Service waiting list figures.

Some NHS trusts may use holding appointments to help manage their waiting lists. These are not counted as the patient’s actual appointment. Patients stay on the waiting list until they receive a proper appointment, and their waiting time continues to be measured in the usual way.