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Stephanie Howarth to Ed Humpherson: Welsh Government referral to treatment waiting list statistics

Stephanie Howarth to Ed Humpherson: Welsh Government referral to treatment waiting list statistics

Dated
8 January 2026
Last updated on
9 January 2026
Sent by:
Stephanie Howarth
Chief Statistician, Welsh gov
Sent to:
Ed Humpherson
Director General for OSR, Office for Statistics Regulation
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Dear Ed,

I previously wrote to you regarding the suspension of publication of Wales level referral to treatment (RTT) waiting list statistics following issues with data from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB).

Today I am writing to update you on the actions we have taken to restore reporting of these high profile statistics.

Throughout December, an external investigation into data collection, quality assurance, and governance arrangements at BCUHB was undertaken. Welsh Government statisticians were involved in this, alongside NHS Wales Performance and Improvement, Digital Health and Care Wales and a peer health board. The underlying cause of the issue was identified, and the health board has now provided revised data and assurances about improvements to its data and governance processes.

As set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics, statistics should be published as soon as they are ready and revisions and corrections should be released at the earliest opportunity. As a result, the revised figures for Wales and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board will be published on 13 January 2026. This will include:

  • Revised data up to August 2025
  • New figures for September and October 2025.

We will update all RTT data on the StatsWales service and issue a short statistical report summarising the headline figures, the impact of the revisions and key findings from the review. We have announced the upcoming publication on our statistics and research web pages and will proactively share this in advance with users.

This will bring data for Wales and all health boards up to date ahead of our next scheduled monthly publication on NHS performance and activity on 22 January.

Our priority has been to restore accurate and reliable reporting as quickly as possible to meet user needs. I remain committed to ensuring these statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and value, both now and in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Stephanie Howarth
Chief Statistician

Related

Stephanie Howarth to Ed Humpherson: Suspension of referral to treatment time statistics for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (27 November 2025)

Ed Humpherson to Stephanie Howarth: Suspension of referral to treatment time statistics for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board  (02 December 2025)

Ed Humpherson to Stephanie Howarth: Welsh Government referral to treatment waiting list statistics (09 January 2026)