Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to support the continued (a) development and (b) implementation of NHS England’s elective toolkit given NHS England's planned abolition.

The NHS England Elective toolkit does not have one single function, as there are multiple different toolkits available. For example, the Children and young people’s elective recovery toolkit and the Getting It Right First Time toolkit, to support the development of elective surgical hubs.

As part of the transformation programme, we are reviewing the appropriate options to merge existing functions between NHS England and the Department, to ensure we maintain progress on tackling the elective waiting list. We will continue to support the wider system through the transformation and will ensure they have the tools and resources available to deliver on the commitments outlined by the Government.

Cutting elective care waiting lists is a key priority for the Government, and the steps we have taken have resulted in a 220,000 reduction in the waiting list over the last year.

We have now exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered 5.2 million more appointments. This marks a vital first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the National Health Service constitutional standard, by March 2029. We will create an NHS fit for the future, modernising care so that it takes place efficiently and closer to home, prioritising patient experience and ensuring that wherever you live in England, you will be seen, diagnosed, and treated in a timely way.