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 recent trends in the length of NHS waiting lists.

We are clear that the extent of waits for vital treatment is unacceptable, and cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government. We have committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by March 2029.

We are making good progress. As of August 2025, there has been a reduction in the waiting list of over 206,000 since the Government came into office, despite over 24.5 million referrals onto the list in that period.

Between July 2024 and June 2025, we delivered 5.2 million additional appointments compared to the previous year, more than double our pledge of two million. This marks a vital first step towards delivering the constitutional standard.