Activity Tracker: May 2026

Community sector

1.21 million
people waiting for community services in March – the highest figure on record
25.5%
of CYP waited 52+ weeks for community services in March
1.69 million
referrals to community services in February – the busiest February on record

The total reported community services waiting list in England stood at 1.21 million in March. This is the highest figure on record and is compared with 1.09 million in March 2025.
The total number of CYP waiting for community services was 321,817, compared with 314,432 in March 2025.
There were 892,435 adults on the community waiting list, compared with 775,924 in March 2025.

There were 82,128 children and young people (CYP) waiting for 52 weeks or more, equating to 25.5% of all CYP on the community waiting list. This is compared with 67,725 (21.5%) in March 2025.
There were 31,688 CYP waiting for 104 weeks or more, which is 9.8% of all CYP on the community waiting list. This is compared with 15,240 (4.8%) in March 2025.
There were 7,502 adults waiting for more than 52 weeks for treatment, compared with 9,987 in March 2025. This makes up 0.8% of the adult waiting list (1.3% in March 2025).

There were 1.69 million referrals to community services received (as shown in Figure 4), compared with 1.66 million referrals in February 2025. This is the most referrals received in a February since 2019.
A total of 8.39 million care contacts were reported across all submitters, compared with 8.27 million in February 2025.

Figure 4