Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long-Term Plan, whether it remains his policy to meet the 92 per cent referral to treatment waiting time target in 2019-20.

Under the Long Term Plan, the local National Health Service is being allocated sufficient funds over the next five years to grow the amount of planned surgery year on year, to cut long waits, and reduce waiting lists.

In parallel, NHS England are carrying out a clinical review of standards, which is due to report in the spring. This review will help to ensure that the NHS is focused on the right targets - for both physical and mental health - which incentivise the best care and outcomes for patients, and have the broad support of our health professionals.

In the shorter term, NHS England’s ‘Operational and Planning Guidance for 2019/20’ sets out deliverables against key performance areas, including referral-to-treatment, and the Government expects the NHS to deliver these actions set – in full – as key steps towards fully recovering performance against core access standards.