1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 1.2 Six-week waits’ performance improvement targets have been provided in NHS Medium Term Planning Framework for 2026-27 to 2027-28, requiring all systems to achieve 1% by 2028/29. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is supporting systems and trusts to deliver that target through a plan that includes funded capacity increases, productivity improvements (through service optimisation and digital investments) and demand optimisation. Capacity growth will also be supported through building partnerships with the independent sector. This combination of funded capacity increases, productivity improvements and demand optimisation provides a clear plan for reaching the 1% operational standard for six week waits for diagnostic tests by March 2029 1.3 Systems’ revenue allocations will support the growth required for the constitutional diagnostic standard to be achieved as well as enabling diagnostic backlog clearance and optimal running of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs). 1.4 The National Diagnostics Programme will continue to fund progress in diagnostic digitisation to drive further productivity gains in diagnostic services. This includes piloting and scaling innovations in diagnostics such as AI that supports faster diagnosis and optimises diagnostic appointment scheduling, and national test registries that reduce unnecessary repeat testing. 1.5 Wider work to optimise diagnostic demand is being delivered in collaboration with the Association of Royal Medical Colleges and through the funding and implementation of the Royal College of Radiologists’ clinical decision support tool. Pathway transformations in CDCs will optimise diagnostics to provide faster access for patients and enable a new planned care model. 1.6 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 1.7 The Elective Reform Plan (ERP) set out several commitments aimed at tackling health disparities in access to and waiting time for elective care, including the publication of waiting list information disaggregated by demographic information, improving use of transport, accessible and alternative language templates, prioritisation tools. 1.8 In July 2025, NHS England published waiting list information broken down by age, sex, ethnicity and deprivation for the first time, updated monthly. This means waiting list information can be used nationally and locally to identify and address disparities in waits between groups of patients. 1.9 The ERP reiterated the importance of every locality and service provider examining waiting list information, as health inequalities vary geographically. Systems and providers are expected to routinely analyse waiting list information alongside local data, and report on identified inequalities and actions to mitigate these within board level reporting. 1.10 NHS England has implemented comprehensive actions to manage risks associated with long waits including where trusts are materially off track, targeted management interventions, building on the successful cohort management approach. 1.11 To maintain accurate waiting lists and identify patients at risk of harm, trusts are expected to review and validate patients waiting over 12 weeks at least every three months. NHS England has also carried out validation sprints throughout 2025-26, ensuring consistency and quality in data management. 1.12 NHS England have introduced a tiering system for trusts with sizeable long-waits. This ensures that support is proportionate to need and prioritised for challenged providers. 1.13 All providers have harm review processes to ensure patient safety, including systematic reviews for long waits, with escalation routes where clinical risk is identified. 3.13 Additionally, the monthly Elective Hubs Oversight Group receives performance reports for all surgical hubs, including on capped theatre utilisation (a measure of theatre productivity). It also receives reports from the national GIRFT hubs accreditation programme.