Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people waiting for (a) four, (b) eight and (c) 12 or more weeks for a non-urgent appointment.

Data on waiting times from consultant-led referral to treatment is published on a monthly basis, and is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/

The latest published data from May 2024 showed there were:

- 6,284,066 incomplete pathways over four weeks;

- 5,118,954 incomplete pathways over eight weeks; and

- 4,259,438 incomplete pathways over 12 weeks.

Waiting times for consultant-led treatments are measured in pathways, rather than people or patients. Patients may be on more than one incomplete pathway.

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. We will start by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step in our commitment to ensuring patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks.