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Ambulance Services: Standards

Asked by Sarah PochinReform UKDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 2 July 2026UIN 13749

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many ambulance handover delays exceeding one hour occurred in England in each of the last five years.

Answered by Karin Smyth

Ambulance handover data is collected and published monthly. It is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/ambulance-quality-indicators-data-2021-22/

Publication of handover data began in October 2023.

We have introduced a maximum 45-minute standard for ambulance handovers through the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/26, supported by the Medium Term Planning Framework for 2026/27 to 2028/29. This ensures patients are transferred to hospital care more quickly and frees up ambulance crews for urgent calls.

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