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 the adequacy NHS investment to combat waiting lists in (a) Suffolk and (b) nationally.

The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, set an overall ambition to deliver on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment – in line with the NHS constitutional standard – by March 2029.

We are funding the activity needed to meet this ambition, which included an additional £1.8 billion funding for additional activity delivered in 2024/25, all within a record £25.6 billion increase in funding for the NHS.

As a result of this, good progress has already been seen on the waiting list. As of June 2025, the waiting list had reduced nationally by over 250,000 compared to July 2024.

NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 sets a target that 65% of patients wait for 18 weeks or less by March 2026, with every trust, including those in Suffolk, expected to deliver a minimum five percentage point improvement over that period.

As set out in our Elective Reform Plan, we are providing the NHS with the resources it needs to continue to deliver this activity, but with the clear expectation that reforms are implemented in an affordable way.