NHS: 92% Within 18 Weeks by Parliament End

Commitment: 92% of patients to start consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks by the end of this Parliament.

Owner: DHSC / NHS England

Target date: End of Parliament (~2029)

Metric: Referral-to-treatment (RTT) 18-week standard; NHS England monthly reporting.

Status: unknown (no current baseline data in available sources)

Delivery history

  • [October 2024/Budget 2025] 5.2m additional NHS appointments; 250 Neighbourhood Health Centres committed.
  • [June 2025] Spending Review: £29bn real terms increase to NHS (2023-24 to 2028-29); 3.0% average annual real terms growth; NHS capital: £2.3bn real terms increase by 2029-30.
  • [2026-04-15] Current RTT baseline not confirmed in available sources. Status listed as unknown pending additional sources on NHS delivery performance.

Key dependencies

  • NHS workforce capacity (Life Sciences sector plan explicitly linked to NHS 10-Year Health Plan)
  • NHS capital investment delivery (£2.3bn increase by 2029-30)
  • Transformation Fund investment in digital and AI for public services