Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is monitoring the number of administrative staff working in NHS back office functions; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in those staff on (a) front-line staffing and (b) waiting lists.

The Department monitors monthly Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England which are published by NHS England. These cover staff employed by hospital trusts and integrated care boards. The published statistics include data for the National Health Service infrastructure workforce, which includes NHS managers, staff working in central functions, such as human resources and finance, and staff working in property and estates roles. These are available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics

No specific central assessment of the impact of changes in the levels of NHS infrastructure roles has been undertaken by the Department but local bodies were tasked through the 2025-26 NHS Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance to review and monitor expenditure on non-frontline staff in order to prioritise frontline care. This guidance also reiterates the ambition of meeting nationally the target of 65% of patients being seen within 18 weeks, along with a minimum 5% improvement, that was set out in the Elective Reform Plan.