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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which five clinical procedures have the highest average waiting time in England.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

Patients have a legal right, set out in the NHS Constitution, to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. The NHS Constitution for England is attached, as is the Handbook to the Constitution, which provides a further level of detail regarding the rights and pledges. Performance is measured against an operational standard that 92% of patients who have not yet started treatment should have been waiting less than 18 weeks from referral at the end of each month. These referral to treatment waiting times are collected for 18 treatment functions (e.g. trauma and orthopaedics), but not for individual conditions or procedures. They are different from the data derived from hospital episode statistics, which show only the waiting time from decision to admit to admission, and not the waiting time from referral to start of treatment.

Table: The five treatment functions that had the highest average waiting time from referral to treatment in July 2016, in England

Treatment Function	Average (median) waiting time (in weeks)
Neurosurgery	8.4
Oral Surgery	7.3
Neurology	7.0
Trauma and Orthopaedics	7.0
Cardiothoracic Surgery	7.0

Source: Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times, NHS England

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many cancer referrals in England were not made within the two week waiting time target for each of the last three years.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

The Handbook to the NHS Constitution, which is attached, sets out the right for patients to be seen by a cancer specialist within a maximum of two weeks from general practitioner (GP) referral for urgent referrals where cancer is suspected. The operational standard is that 93% of patients should wait less than two weeks from GP urgent referral to first consultant appointment. This standard has been met in each of the last three years.

The information for how many patients waited more than two weeks from GP urgent referral to first consultant appointment is shown in the table below.

Table: Two week wait from GP urgent referral to first consultant appointment, in England, 2013/14 to 2015/16

Year	Number of patients that waited less than two weeks to be seen	Number of patients that waited more than two weeks to be seen	Total number of patients referred	Performance against the standard
2013/14	1,297,849	63,496	1,361,345	95.3%
2014/15	1,459,084	90,610	1,549,694	94.2%
2015/16	1,624,981	101,140	1,726,121	94.1%

Source: Cancer waiting times quarterly time series, NHS England

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what alternatives to a sugar tax they have considered to reduce levels of childhood obesity.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

In developing Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action we looked at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese. The policies in the plan focus on the ones that are likely to have the biggest impact on childhood obesity. In addition to the soft drinks industry levy, this includes the sugar reduction programme, helping all children to enjoy an hour of physical activity every day and a healthy rating scheme for primary schools.

The plan is informed by the latest research and evidence, including from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition report Carbohydrates and Health, Public Health England’s evidence package Sugar reduction: the evidence for action, other government departments, debates in this House and various reports from key stakeholders including the Health Select Committee.

We are confident that the measures we have announced will make a real difference and estimate could reduce childhood obesity rates by about a fifth (330,000) over the next ten years. Though we are clear in our goals and firm in the action we will take, the launch of this plan represents the start of a conversation, rather than the final word.

Copies of Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action, Carbohydrates and Health and Sugar reduction: the evidence for action are attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote the role of regional airports in stimulating the UK economy.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The government made clear in its Aviation Policy Framework, that airports across the UK make a vital contribution to the growth and recovery of regional and local economies and their role in helping to accommodate wider forecast growth in demand for aviation in the UK. The government recognises that regional air connectivity across the UK is also very important and announced in November 2015 that it will provide around £7million of start-up aid from the Regional Air Connectivity Fund over the next three financial years to support 11 new air routes from smaller airports. The Fund is also providing support to two Public Service Obligation routes from London to Dundee and Newquay. The UK government has also recently agreed in principle to support the air route between City of Derry Airport and London.