The Office for Statistics Regulation wrote to Stuart Andrew MP about NHS England Elective Waiting Time Statistics

10 July 2026 · Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation

The letter is dated 10 July 2026. The Office for Statistics Regulation published it as Ed Humpherson to Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP: NHS England Elective Waiting Time Statistics. Below are 4 passages from the letter in the regulator's own words.

What the Office for Statistics Regulation wrote

“Since we published this review, NHS England has taken positive steps to improve the transparency and interpretability of the statistics.”

“As part of developing and improving the waiting times statistics, we consider that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care should be more open about why pathways end and should publish additional information about this in the Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLMDS) in the future.”

“More broadly, we have highlighted in a recent public statement the importance of careful interpretation of NHS waiting time statistics, including the need to distinguish between pathways and people, and to recognise that these statistics reflect flows through the system rather than a simple count of individuals.”

“In our view, this reinforces how important it is for NHS England to develop the statistics in a way that supports both performance monitoring and a clearer understanding of the drivers of change.”

From Ed Humpherson, Office for Statistics Regulation, letter of 10 July 2026. Read the full letter.

Related key figures

• NHS waiting list (England)

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