Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on patients of increasing wait times for NHS community services.

We know that people are waiting too long for community services. That is why, for the first time, we have set a clear target for systems to work to reduce long waits. By 2028/29, at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks, bringing community health services in line with targets for elective care.

In 2025, we published Standardising Community Health Services which provides an overview of core community health services. Setting clear expectations of the core community health services, integrated care boards will support consistent delivery of community health services and effective commissioning, and will improve patient access to care.

NHS England works with local systems, including integrated care boards, to manage demand and mitigate the impact of waiting times on patients, particularly in areas of highest clinical risk. Community health services waiting time data is monitored nationally through NHS England's monthly Community Health Services Situation Report.