Dear Chris
NHS England cancer waiting times statistics: Confirmation of accredited official statistics status
We have independently reviewed the actions that NHS England has taken to address the four requirements outlined in our assessment report. On behalf of the Board of the UK Statistics Authority, I am pleased to confirm that they comply with the standards of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value in the Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code) and should be labelled as accredited official statistics. The detail supporting our judgement is included in the annex to this letter.
We welcome the actions you have taken to improve the value of these statistics for users. The publication of a development plan for the statistics and a data quality and methods paper increases transparency, supports users to understand and use the statistics appropriately, and allows users to feed into development plans.
We also welcome the hard work the statistics team has put into improving the presentation of the statistics and responding to user requests for more-granular data. In addition to your initial publication examining performance against the Faster Diagnosis Standard for those diagnosed with cancer and those who have cancer ruled out, your ongoing development work – such as exploring the feasibility of a dashboard and identifying users’ further needs for more-granular data – demonstrates your commitment to meeting user needs and upholding the standards of the Code. We look forward to hearing about the outcome from this work.
I would like to thank your team for its open and constructive engagement throughout our assessment and for your ongoing commitment to improving these statistics.
Yours sincerely
Ed Humpherson
Director General for OSR
Annex: Review of actions taken in response to Assessment Report 397, Cancer waiting times statistics produced by NHS England
Requirement 1
To enhance transparency and allow users to input to developments, NHS England should publish a development plan for its cancer waiting times statistics. The plan should include details of work that NHS England plans to carry out in relation to more-granular data breakdowns and understanding users’ needs in relation to health inequalities. NHS England should share this plan both with its known users and on its website to ensure it reaches as wide a range of individuals and organisations as possible.
Actions taken by NHS England
NHS England has published a development plan for the cancer waiting times statistics with associated timescales for the various activities. The team has responded to feedback on the initial plan and has continued to update it to reflect progress and further developments. The team has shared the development plan with a range of users, including at a meeting of the Charity Forum in November, and has further plans to share it at the next Cancer Data and Analytics Advisory Group (CDAAG) in December.
OSR’s evaluation of evidence
We consider this requirement to be met. The publication of the development plan which details ongoing and future developments increases transparency. Sharing the plan with users in addition to publishing it on the website also gives important opportunities to feed into this work.
Requirement 2
To help users understand the strengths, limitations and comparability of the statistics, NHS England should publish:
- Comprehensive information about quality and methods. The provided information should include aspects such as the data journey from submission to publication, quality assurance processes, steps taken to prevent misreporting and coverage and completeness of the data.
- Its disclosure control document to reassure users about any concerns relating to small numbers in the data.
- More information about coherence and cross-UK comparability within its release.
Actions taken by NHS England
NHS England has published a data quality and methods paper and has included information on the data journey from submission to publication and QA processes as an annex to the monthly headline statistics summary. The team has published information on the risk of disclosure and continues to keep it under review as it considers the publication of more granular statistics. It has published information on comparing cancer waiting times across the UK on the landing page for the statistics. This includes a link to detailed information published by the GSS coherence team in 2024 on waiting times for cancer treatment in the UK.
OSR’s evaluation of evidence
We consider this requirement to be met. Publication of the data quality and methods information is an important addition for users of the statistics. It provides sufficient information in one place to reassure users about the quality of the statistics and to help them understand the strengths and limitations. The now published information on disclosure risk provides further reassurance for users, especially as NHS England continues to develop the statistics. The information on comparability is sufficient to meet users’ needs and the link to the GSS publication provides more detailed information for those who require it.
Requirement 3
NHS England should improve the presentation of the statistics so that they are accessible to, and easy to use for, a wide range of users. This should include improving the insight provided by the explanatory text, the signposting between various parts of the release, and considering more-interactive ways of presenting the data, such as via dashboards. In meeting this requirement, NHS England should speak to a broad range of users to identify their needs and aim to address them where possible. Where improvements are likely to take longer to implement, such as developing and publishing dashboards, NHS England should include details of its plans within the development plan that it publishes to satisfy Requirement 1.
Actions taken by NHS England
NHS England has improved the monthly statistical summary so that it offers more insight into the headline measures. The team has also redeveloped the way in which the time series are structured to make them more user friendly and machine readable. It published skeleton files on its website showing the structure and variables in the new publications, and gave users various opportunities to familiarise themselves with the changes and provide any feedback ahead of formal publication.
NHS England has explored the feasibility of developing a dashboard to help users further explore the statistics. The team is exploring the design and contents of a dashboard and will consult with users over the coming months as the process progresses. This is detailed in the published development plan, and the team intends to publish the dashboard in Spring 2026.
OSR’s evaluation of evidence
We consider this requirement to be met. NHS England has taken suitable steps to improve the presentation of the statistics in the short term. The inclusion of charts and additional insights in the monthly pdf makes it more accessible to a wider range of users. The redesigned monthly time series addresses issues raised by users in relation to them extracting data for their own use and makes it easier for them to do this. Sharing skeleton files on the website and seeking feedback shows a commitment to ensuring the outputs meet users’ needs.
For the longer term, we are pleased that NHS England is looking to develop and publish a dashboard and to overcome the barriers associated with hosting dashboards on its website. We feel confident that the team recognises the importance of continuing to develop the presentation of its data and that it is committed to seeing the dashboard through to completion.
Requirement 4
To enhance the insights offered by the statistics, NHS England should explore the feasibility of publishing more-granular information and provide feedback to users about what is and is not possible and why. Based on user feedback, the priority for this work should be providing breakdowns for the faster diagnosis standard of those who are diagnosed with cancer versus those who have cancer ruled out. Over the longer term, NHS England should look at ways to enable publishing waiting times data for specific cancer types and should work with users to identify their needs in relation to health inequalities. NHS England should include details of its longer-term work within the development plan that it publishes to satisfy Requirement 1.
Actions taken by NHS England
In September, NHS England published an initial publication examining performance against the Faster Diagnosis Standard for those diagnosed with cancer and those who have cancer ruled out, for each suspected tumour type, for the past 4 years. Alongside this, the team published time series graphs and a data extract to enable users to conduct their own analyses. It also hosted a session of the Cancer Charity forum to introduce charities to the statistics and answer questions. The team now plans to publish this information at both provider and commissioner level, starting in winter 2025 and thereafter on a quarterly basis.
The team has also explored the feasibility of publishing more-granular information for the 31- and 62-day standards in relation to tumours and treatment modality – both separately and together. It is consulting with a range of users to understand their requirements and views. It anticipates making these more granular breakdowns available in Spring 2026 and subsequently building them into the public facing dashboard. This is detailed in the development plan.
The team has had initial conversations with users relating to their requirements on health inequalities and has further plans to engage with stakeholders in forthcoming forums. It has also been making necessary developments to the Cancer Waiting Times dataset to enable demographic analyses to be carried out. The team plans to use the insights gained from its user engagement activities to develop its plan for health inequalities work, which will be considered as part of its forthcoming business planning for 2026/27.
OSR’s evaluation of evidence
We consider this requirement to be met. We are pleased that NHS England quickly published more granular information for the faster diagnosis standard and has plans to publish further breakdowns here. The team has also been proactive in exploring the feasibility of publishing waiting times data for specific cancer types and told us that it plans to engage with users over potential disclosure issues here and how best to meet users’ needs while maintaining anonymity in the data. The initial conversations with users about their needs in relation to health inequalities, as well as making amendments to the dataset, represents a commitment to publishing information on this topic in the future. This is evidenced by the team’s plans to include work on health inequalities in its business plan for the forthcoming year.
Related
Statistics about cancer waiting times in England – June 2025
Ed Humpherson to Chris Roebuck: Assessment of NHS England’s cancer waiting times statistics – June 2025
Ed Humpherson to Chris Roebuck: Request for assessment of NHS England Cancer Waiting Times Statistics – April 2024