The figures covering the period from April 2023 to March 2024, revealed significant progress on cancer care and faster ambulance responses.

The NHS met its 28-day faster cancer diagnosis target for the second month in a row. The number of patients waiting long than 62 days for diagnosis was the lowest since the end of April 2020.

March saw record numbers of urgent cancer appointments and treatment activity against a backdrop of significant demand for urgent and emergency care with A&E attendances and admissions hitting their highest ever levels in April.

Almost three-quarters (74.4%) of people were discharged, admitted or transferred within four months in April, the highest proportion since April 2023.

Ambulance response times were also faster in every category.

The overall waiting list remained stable in March at 7.54m, made up of a total of 6.29m patients because of some waiting for more than one treatment.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive at NHS Providers, said 'vital gains' had been made on made on cancer, urgent and emergency care and some elective targets, as well as ambulance response times, while adding it was 'deeply concerning' that elective waiting lists remained 'stubbornly high'.

Hartley called on the government to commit to fully funding the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan to boost staffing levels and to resolve ongoing 'hugely disruptive' industrial action through union talks.

Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would be 'utterly deluded' to regard the latest data as an NHS in recovery with waiting lists standing at over 7.5m.

'The Conservative party have proven themselves to be utterly unfit to oversee our NHS,' Cooper said. 'The only way that our health service can get back on its feet is with this tired and broken government out of office.'

Health and social care secretary, Victoria Atkins, welcomed the biggest six-month reduction in waiting lists in over 10 years outside of the pandemic as a 'significant achievement in the context of record pressures and strikes'.