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Labour PartyHealth

40,000 more NHS appointments every week

“As a first step, in England we will deliver an extra two million NHS operations, scans, and appointments every year; that is 40,000 more appointments every week.”

Delivering2024 manifesto, page 95, 13 Jun 2024
  5. Delivering

Where it stands

The government reported almost 2.2 million more elective appointments in England in July to November 2024 than a year earlier, and in July 2025 the UK Statistics Authority said its regulator had verified a figure of 3.6 million extra in the government's first eight months. The pledge is for every year, so the card sits at Delivering rather than Delivered. The manifesto sets no end date.

What has happened

  1. Jun 2024Labour manifesto pledges two million extra NHS operations, scans and appointments a year in England, Promised
  2. Oct 2024Autumn Budget 2024 funds the NHS in England to deliver 40,000 extra elective appointments a week, including an additional £1.8bn for elective activity since July, Funded evidence
  3. Feb 2025Government reports almost 2.2 million more elective appointments in July to November 2024 than in the same months of 2023, Delivering evidence
  4. Jul 2025UK Statistics Authority letter says the Office for Statistics Regulation has verified the government's figure of 3.6 million additional elective appointments in its first eight months, Delivering evidence
  5. Nov 2025Budget 2025 reports 5.2 million more appointments delivered since the start of the Parliament, Delivering evidence

About the cost

Year used: 2028-29, the year Labour's costings use. Labour's own figure is £1,010m (manifesto page 127); central figure only. No independent costing of the pledge itself was found. For comparison, Autumn Budget 2024 included an additional £1.8bn to support elective activity since July 2024, and a £22.6bn rise in the health department's day-to-day budget in 2025-26 compared with 2023-24. Low–high is an editorial ±10% because the source gives a central figure only.

More detail

Sources (6)
Corrections (2): what we fixed, in public
  1. Corrected on 6 Oct 2026: Cost note in version 1The note placed the £1.8bn inside the 2025-26 rise of £22.6bn. Autumn Budget 2024 gives the £1.8bn as 2024-25 money for elective activity since July 2024, so it is not part of the 2025-26 rise.Was: “Year used: 2028-29, the year Labour's costings use. Labour's own figure is £1,010m (manifesto page 127); central figure only. No independent costing of the pledge itself was found. For comparison, Autumn Budget 2024 gave an additional £1.8bn to support elective activity in 2024-25, within a £22.6bn rise in the health department's day-to-day budget for 2025-26 compared with 2023-24. Low–high is an editorial ±10% because the source gives a central figure only.”Now: “Year used: 2028-29, the year Labour's costings use. Labour's own figure is £1,010m (manifesto page 127); central figure only. No independent costing of the pledge itself was found. For comparison, Autumn Budget 2024 included an additional £1.8bn to support elective activity since July 2024, and a £22.6bn rise in the health department's day-to-day budget in 2025-26 compared with 2023-24. Low–high is an editorial ±10% because the source gives a central figure only.”Source for the correction
  2. Corrected on 6 Oct 2026: Wording of the “Delivering” entryThe entry left out the period. The verified 3.6 million covers the government's first eight months, as the letter says.Was: “UK Statistics Authority letter says the Office for Statistics Regulation has verified the government's figure of 3.6 million additional elective appointments”Now: “UK Statistics Authority letter says the Office for Statistics Regulation has verified the government's figure of 3.6 million additional elective appointments in its first eight months”Source for the correction
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