§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his statement on NHS resources and priorities of 14 November 2000,Official Report, columns 805–08, how many people have been waiting for outpatient treatment for 13 weeks or more; and if he will estimate how many will be waiting by 2002. [138910]
§ Mr. DenhamAt the end of September, 435,768 patients were waiting over 13 weeks for a first outpatient appointment. The number of those waiting more than 13 weeks fell by 80,000 over the past year and we expect further falls next year.