Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish their analysis of the cost of achieving referral to treatment standards as set out in the NHS constitution.

There are no plans to publish such analyses.

The Government holds NHS England and NHS Improvement to account for delivery of the referral to treatment and other performance targets and patient access standards. Delivery of the standards is impacted by a number of factors such as levels of demand, productivity and financial resources. NHS England has set these out in their Next Steps on the NHS Five Year Forward View, which charts practical and realistic steps for the next few years with the aim of delivering real improvements in patient care and outcomes.

Additionally, the Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2017/18 sets a clear expectation that NHS England will meet agreed standards on accident and emergency, ambulances, diagnostics and referral to treatment.