This includes an additional £1.8bn the government has invested in elective activity this year since the July Statement.

This will be supported by a significant uplift of capital investment, with new capacity including surgical hubs and scanners, meaning thousands of additional procedures and millions of diagnostic tests across the country, alongside funding for new radiotherapy machines to improve cancer treatment.

The government says the announcement is an integral step in reducing the waiting list and puts the NHS on course to meet the commitment that 92% of people wait less than 18 weeks to start treatment in the NHS.

Reeves said: 'Our NHS is the lifeblood of Britain. It exemplifies public services at their best, there for us when we need it and free at the point of use, for everyone in this country.

'That's why I am putting an end to the neglect and underinvestment it has seen for over a decade now.'

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting added: 'The Chancellor is backing the NHS with new investment to cut waiting lists, which stand at an unacceptable 7.6 million today. Alongside extra funding, we're sending crack teams of top surgeons to hospitals across the country, to reform how they run their surgeries, treat more patients, and make the money go further.'

In response, Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive at NHS Providers, said any extra assistance to tackle waiting lists is welcome.

She said: 'NHS trust leaders and their teams are giving everything they've got to see patients as quickly as possible and continue to cut the longest waits for treatment in the face of rising demand, major workforce challenges and huge financial pressures. But still too many people are waiting too long for care.

'Trust leaders hope that the government's Budget will equip them to meet the many big challenges facing the NHS. It's positive that work has started on the government's 10-year plan for the NHS which will need to address longer-term sustainability for next generation health services.'

Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at The King's Fund, said that without further commitments in the Budget, the NHS and adult social care system will be facing 'another grim winter'.

‘The sums announced today must be the first but not final word if the government is going to meet its ambitions to deliver an NHS that is fit for the future,' Anandaciva added.

Dr Jennifer Dixon, chief executive of the Health Foundation, said the announcement should be the 'opening salvo' in a wider programme of investment and reform.

She said: 'We look forward to seeing more detail about the revenue budget for the NHS and how the government will meet its wider health commitments including improving access to primary care and prioritising the prevention of poor health.'