THERE is a “serious risk” that a key Labour pledge to cut NHS waiting lists will not be met, MPs have warned, likening government plans for reform to “poor practices seen on HS2.”

The public accounts committee said initiatives to reduce waiting times for pre-planned care in England “have not met their goals,” with management of these programmes “extremely variable.”

The cross-party group highlighted that billions have been spent, yet “too many people are still waiting too long for diagnostic tests and treatment, and the pace of change to meet recovery targets is too slow.”

Its report warns that with plans to axe NHS England (NHSE) and absorb its functions into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the department will take responsibility for cutting waiting lists.

“Unless it gets a grip on the programmes, there is a serious risk that it will not meet its target for 92 per cent of the waiting list to be treated within 18 weeks by 2029,” MPs wrote.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for change pledged that by July 2029, 92 per cent of patients will be seen within 18 weeks for routine hospital treatment such as hip and knee replacements.

MPs also raised “significant concerns that the reform of NHSE and DHSC, as well as local NHS services, has been announced without either delivery plans or funding in place.”

Last week, Health Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed that thousands of NHS staff redundancies will now go ahead after the estimated £1 billion cost was agreed with the Treasury.

But the Treasury has not allocated additional funding for the departures, meaning the NHS will overspend its budget this year to meet redundancy costs.

The committee report states: “We do not accept that it is prudent to make a major change… without ensuring there is funding in place to pay for the changes, and without conducting an impact assessment or taking other steps to safeguard value for money.”

It adds that the reforms “could have a significant negative impact on patients and on the healthcare workforce” by creating uncertainty and limiting the ability of NHS bodies to plan.”

“We are concerned that these poor practices, previously seen with the New Hospitals Programme and the High Speed 2 programme, are being replicated here and will lead to wasted effort,” it says.

NHSE and the DHSC were approached for comment.