Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the decision by NHS South West Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group to implement contractual agreements that patients cannot receive routine elective care before 12 weeks, whether they intend to intervene to prohibit such practices.

NHS England has made it clear to commissioners that they should not restrict access to routine elective at any stage of a patient’s referral to treatment. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), including South West Lincolnshire CCG, should work locally with National Health Service providers to manage appointments for routine elective care, taking into account the needs of their population and in line with waiting times standards as set out in the NHS Constitution.