Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce elective care backlogs at hospitals in the North East.

As of May 2025, the latest available data, the total waiting list in the North East and Yorkshire region stood at 990,884, with 67.1% waiting within 18 weeks, which is better than the national average of 60.9%.

Since May 2024, the waiting list in North East and Yorkshire region has decreased by 19,141, and 18-week performance has improved by 1.7%. The North East and Yorkshire region includes:

• Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB);
• North East and North Cumbria​ ICB;
• South Yorkshire ICB; and
• West Yorkshire ICB.

We have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029. There are a range of efforts underway, nationally and in the North East, to reduce the time patients are waiting for elective care.

The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and reform efforts we will undertake to return to the 18-week standard, and to ensure patients have the best possible experience while they wait. This includes addressing the challenges in diagnostic waiting times, providing the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests that are needed to reduce elective and cancer waits.

We have supported this with additional investment in the autumn and spring Spending Reviews, which has allowed us to exceed our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered 4.6 million additional appointments up to the end of April 2025.

Furthermore, in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Department has set out a transformed vision for elective care by 2035, where the majority of interactions no longer take place in a hospital building, instead happening virtually or via neighbourhood services. Planned care will be more efficient, timely, and effective.