Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer to Question 94138, what steps her Department is taking to achieve the 18‑minute Category 2 ambulance response target in North East Hampshire; and when she expects that target to be met.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework states that by 2028/29, nationally Category 2 incidents will be responded to in an average of 18 minutes, with 90% of responses within 40 minutes. These targets will ensure patients in urgent need receive care more quickly, wherever they are. We expect all ambulance trusts, including the South Central Ambulance Service, to contribute to meeting this ambition, with more specific targets set out in individual planning returns.

National Health Service performance figures for the South-Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS), which serves North- East Hampshire, show that this financial year to date, from April 2025 to February 2026, Category 2 incidents were responded to in 30 minutes 18 seconds on average. This is over two minutes faster than the same period last year.

SCAS has set out a range of improvement initiatives, closely aligned with actions in the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, to improve ambulance response times, such as expanding hear and treat.