In this section: Public services

Ambulance services: funding, staff and response times

Last updated 29 September 2026. Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.

£5.5bn was spent on ambulance services in Ambulance services, United Kingdom in 2024-25, £78.77 per resident. That is +4.4% on a year earlier after inflation (+8.7% in cash). In 2025-26 prices it has gone from £5.4bn in 2023-24 to £5.6bn.

Figure as of unknown date. Source: NHS England, Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, Scottish Ambulance Service, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust.

Key figures

£5.5bnSpent in 2024-25, cash +8.7% on a year earlier
+4.4%Real-terms change, 2024-25 on a year earlier £5.6bn in 2025-26 prices
£78.77Per resident, 2024-25

Sources: NHS England, Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, Scottish Ambulance Service, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust.

What is the short version?

Ten trusts in England and one national service each in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Response times against the targets, compared within each nation only, because each measures them differently.
Handover delays at hospital are shown where published.

Over the longest run published: cash, real terms and per head

Ambulance services, United Kingdom: spending in cash and in 2025-26 prices, £ million

Real terms use HM Treasury’s GDP deflator, 2025-26 prices. Breaks in the series: 2017-18: England’s response categories 1 to 4 and their standards (the Ambulance Response Programme) began in 2017; the NHS England series here starts with them. Earlier red/green figures are not comparable. 2022-23: Scotland: response times from April 2022 are provisional while the Scottish Ambulance Service revises its definition. 2023-24: England: handover times are in AmbSYS from October 2023, replacing the winter situation reports. 2025-26: Wales: a new clinical response model from July 2025 (purple, red, orange, yellow, green); the old red 8-minute measure ends in June 2025 and the two are not comparable. 2026-27: England: integrated care boards merged in April 2026; the trust areas are drawn on the new boards. From August 2026 NHS England moved some ambulance data to the Ambulance Data Set, and the latest month is revised the month after.

The numbers behind this chart

Ambulance services, United Kingdom: spending in cash and in 2025-26 prices, £ million (£ million)
Year	Real terms (2025-26 prices)	Cash
2023-24 Details for 2023-24	£5,405.5m	£5,021.4m
Cash £5,021.4m
2024-25 Details for 2024-25	£5,645.2m	£5,457.1m
Cash £5,457.1m

Ambulance services, United Kingdom: spending per resident, 2025-26 prices

Per resident divides by ONS mid-year population estimates.

The numbers behind this chart

Ambulance services, United Kingdom: spending per resident, 2025-26 prices (£ per resident)
Year	Per resident, 2025-26 prices	Per resident, cash
2023-24 Details for 2023-24	£79	£73
Per resident, cash £73
2024-25 Details for 2024-25	£81	£79
Per resident, cash £79

Spending per resident by nation, 2024-25

Each nation is divided by its own population, so the figures compare like for like. England-only and UK-wide spending are never added together here.

The numbers behind this chart

Spending per resident by nation, 2024-25 (£ per resident, cash)
Item	£ per resident, 2024-25, cash
England	£76
Scotland	£86
Wales	£102
Northern Ireland	£99

Source: NHS England, NHS providers: trust accounts consolidation (TAC) data, 2024/25, 2022/23, 2020/21 accounts; Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26; Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24; Scottish Ambulance Service, Scottish Ambulance Service Board, Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25; Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service HSC Trust, Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26; Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service HSC Trust, Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25.

Response times

Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response: England

Mean response time for category 2 calls. The standard is 18 minutes; NHS England’s planning ambition for 2025-26 was a mean of 30 minutes. Target: 18 minutes (category 2 mean).

The numbers behind this chart

Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response: England (Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, minutes)
Year	England
2017-08	23.9
2017-09	22.0
2017-10	21.9
2017-11	22.8
2017-12	29.6
2018-01	26.1
2018-02	25.6
2018-03	27.7
2018-04	20.2
2018-05	21.2
2018-06	21.5
2018-07	22.6
2018-08	20.6
2018-09	21.6
2018-10	21.3
2018-11	21.9
2018-12	22.4
2019-01	23.0
2019-02	23.6
2019-03	21.3
2019-04	21.5
2019-05	21.0
2019-06	22.5
2019-07	23.3
2019-08	21.3
2019-09	22.4
2019-10	23.8
2019-11	25.9
2019-12	28.0
2020-01	20.9
2020-02	22.1
2020-03	32.1
2020-04	18.5
2020-05	13.5
2020-06	14.9
2020-07	16.7
2020-08	20.1
2020-09	22.6
2020-10	25.4
2020-11	21.3
2020-12	27.9
2021-01	29.7
2021-02	18.3
2021-03	18.4
2021-04	20.3
2021-05	24.6
2021-06	30.7
2021-07	41.1
2021-08	38.7
2021-09	45.5
2021-10	53.9
2021-11	46.6
2021-12	53.4
2022-01	38.1
2022-02	42.1
2022-03	61.1
2022-04	51.3
2022-05	39.9
2022-06	51.4
2022-07	58.9
2022-08	42.6
2022-09	48.0
2022-10	61.3
2022-11	48.2
2022-12	92.9
2023-01	32.1
2023-02	32.3
2023-03	39.6
2023-04	28.6
2023-05	32.4
2023-06	36.8
2023-07	31.8
2023-08	31.5
2023-09	37.7
2023-10	41.7
2023-11	38.5
2023-12	46.0
2024-01	40.1
2024-02	36.3
2024-03	33.9
2024-04	30.4
2024-05	32.7
2024-06	34.6
2024-07	33.4
2024-08	27.4
2024-09	36.1
2024-10	42.3
2024-11	42.4
2024-12	47.4
2025-01	35.7
2025-02	31.4
2025-03	28.6
2025-04	27.5
2025-05	27.8
2025-06	29.6
2025-07	28.6
2025-08	27.0
2025-09	30.8
2025-10	32.6
2025-11	32.8
2025-12	32.7
2026-01	35.1
2026-02	29.0
2026-03	26.3
2026-04	24.5
2026-05	29.2
2026-06	32.5
2026-07	29.8
2026-08	28.9

Figure as of unknown date. Source: NHS England.

Ambulance response by nation, each on its own measure
Nation	Most urgent calls	Next most urgent	Staff
England Details for England	Category 1 mean: 7.9 minutes (2026-08)	Category 2 mean: 28.9 minutes (2026-08)	55,608 FTE (2026-07)
Most urgent calls Category 1 mean: 7.9 minutes (2026-08) Next most urgent Category 2 mean: 28.9 minutes (2026-08)
Wales Details for Wales	Purple median: 7.4 minutes (2026-08)	Red median: 9.0 minutes (2026-08)	4,242 FTE (2026-03)
Most urgent calls Purple median: 7.4 minutes (2026-08) Next most urgent Red median: 9.0 minutes (2026-08)
Scotland Details for Scotland	Purple median: 8.1 minutes (2026-09-14)	Red median: 9.3 minutes (2026-09-14)	5,480 FTE (2024-25)
Most urgent calls Purple median: 8.1 minutes (2026-09-14) Next most urgent Red median: 9.3 minutes (2026-09-14)
Northern Ireland Details for Northern Ireland	Category 1 mean: 11.8 minutes (2026-03)	Category 2 mean: 76.6 minutes (2026-03)	1,594 FTE (2026-06)
Most urgent calls Category 1 mean: 11.8 minutes (2026-03) Next most urgent Category 2 mean: 76.6 minutes (2026-03)

Each nation defines its categories and measures differently (means in England and Northern Ireland, medians in Wales and Scotland), so the rows are not a ranking.

Vehicles

England: NHS England does not publish how many ambulances or other vehicles each trust has. Some trusts give a fleet size in their own annual or sustainability reports, but not on a common basis.
Wales: Not published as a total. The Welsh Ambulance Service’s 2025-26 annual report gives only the vehicles approved for replacement in the year (141, of which 44 emergency ambulances).
Scotland: The Scottish Ambulance Service’s sustainability report lists its fleet by vehicle type, but not as an official statistic and not in a form that could be read reliably, so no figure is shown.
Northern Ireland: Not published in the Department of Health’s statistics.

Where the money goes, level by level

UK total (this level)
Nation
Department or service body
Local body
Spending category
Line or transaction not published

Ambulance services, United Kingdom

A sum of the four nations’ ambulance services’ own accounts (operating expenditure), worked out here, shown only for years all four are published. HM Treasury does not publish a figure for ambulance services: they sit inside its “medical services” line.

£5.5bn in 2024-25 (cash); £5.6bn in 2025-26 prices; £78.77 per resident; +8.7% on a year earlier in cash, +4.4% in real terms.

Ambulance services, United Kingdom: by nation, 2024-25
Nation	Cash, 2024-25	Real terms (2025-26 prices)	Per resident	Real change on a year earlier	Source	Below this
England Details for England	£4.5bn	£4.6bn	£76.14	+4.3%	NHS England	Broken down below
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £4.6bn Per resident £76.14 Real change on a year earlier +4.3% Source NHS England Below this Broken down below
Scotland Details for Scotland	£479m	£495m	£86.31	+3.0%	Scottish Ambulance Service	Broken down below
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £495m Per resident £86.31 Real change on a year earlier +3.0% Source Scottish Ambulance Service Below this Broken down below
Wales Details for Wales	£325m	£336m	£102	+1.9%	Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust	Broken down below
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £336m Per resident £102 Real change on a year earlier +1.9% Source Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust Below this Broken down below
Northern Ireland Details for Northern Ireland	£190m	£197m	£98.72	+17.8%	Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust	Broken down below
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £197m Per resident £98.72 Real change on a year earlier +17.8% Source Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust Below this Broken down below

England

The sum of the 10 ambulance trusts’ operating expenses from their accounts, worked out here, only for years every trust’s accounts are in NHS England’s data. It is not a Treasury figure, and it leaves out the Isle of Wight’s ambulance service, which is not shown separately. Trusts also run NHS 111 and patient transport, which are included.

£4.5bn in 2024-25 (cash); £4.6bn in 2025-26 prices; £76.14 per resident; +8.5% on a year earlier in cash, +4.3% in real terms.

England: by local body, 2024-25
Local body	Cash, 2024-25	Real terms (2025-26 prices)	Per resident	Real change on a year earlier	Source	Below this
London Ambulance Service NHS Trust Details for London Ambulance Service NHS Trust	£756m	£782m	£82.58	+6.0%	NHS England	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £782m Per resident £82.58 Real change on a year earlier +6.0% Source NHS England Below this On its own page
North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust Details for North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust	£553m	£572m	£71.67	+3.5%	NHS England	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £572m Per resident £71.67 Real change on a year earlier +3.5% Source NHS England Below this On its own page
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust Details for East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust	£494m	£511m	£75.17	+7.7%	NHS England	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £511m Per resident £75.17 Real change on a year earlier +7.7% Source NHS England Below this On its own page
West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust Details for West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust	£456m	£472m	£73.76	+6.2%	NHS England	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £472m Per resident £73.76 Real change on a year earlier +6.2% Source NHS England Below this On its own page
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust Details for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust	£447m	£463m	£79.07	+5.8%	NHS England	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £463m Per resident £79.07 Real change on a year earlier +5.8% Source NHS England Below this On its own page
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Details for South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust	£435m	£450m	£73.85	+4.6%	NHS England	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £450m Per resident £73.85 Real change on a year earlier +4.6% Source NHS England Below this On its own page
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Details for South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust	£382m	£395m	£83.72	−3.1%	NHS England	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £395m Per resident £83.72 Real change on a year earlier −3.1% Source NHS England Below this On its own page
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Details for South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust	£365m	£378m	£73.92	−0.3%	NHS England	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £378m Per resident £73.92 Real change on a year earlier −0.3% Source NHS England Below this On its own page
East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust Details for East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust	£331m	£342m	£65.35	+5.0%	NHS England	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £342m Per resident £65.35 Real change on a year earlier +5.0% Source NHS England Below this On its own page
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Details for North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust	£245m	£254m	£89.29	+5.7%	NHS England	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £254m Per resident £89.29 Real change on a year earlier +5.7% Source NHS England Below this On its own page
Isle of Wight NHS Trust (ambulance service) Details for Isle of Wight NHS Trust (ambulance service)	not published	not published	—	—	—	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) not published Per resident — Real change on a year earlier — Source — Below this On its own page

Scotland

Scotland has one national ambulance service; the figure is its own accounts.

£479m in 2024-25 (cash); £495m in 2025-26 prices; £86.31 per resident; +7.2% on a year earlier in cash, +3.0% in real terms.

Scotland: by department or service body, 2024-25
Department or service body	Cash, 2024-25	Real terms (2025-26 prices)	Per resident	Real change on a year earlier	Source	Below this
Scottish Ambulance Service Details for Scottish Ambulance Service	£479m	£495m	£86.31	+3.0%	Scottish Ambulance Service	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £495m Per resident £86.31 Real change on a year earlier +3.0% Source Scottish Ambulance Service Below this On its own page

Wales

Wales has one national ambulance service; the figure is its own accounts.

£345m in 2025-26 (cash); £345m in 2025-26 prices; £109 per resident; +6.2% on a year earlier in cash, +2.7% in real terms.

Wales: by department or service body, 2025-26
Department or service body	Cash, 2025-26	Real terms (2025-26 prices)	Per resident	Real change on a year earlier	Source	Below this
Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust Details for Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust	£345m	£345m	£109	+2.7%	Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £345m Per resident £109 Real change on a year earlier +2.7% Source Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust Below this On its own page

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has one national ambulance service; the figure is its own accounts.

£153m in 2025-26 (cash); £153m in 2025-26 prices; £79.24 per resident; −19.7% on a year earlier in cash, −22.4% in real terms.

Northern Ireland: by department or service body, 2025-26
Department or service body	Cash, 2025-26	Real terms (2025-26 prices)	Per resident	Real change on a year earlier	Source	Below this
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust Details for Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust	£153m	£153m	£79.24	−22.4%	Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust	On its own page
Real terms (2025-26 prices) £153m Per resident £79.24 Real change on a year earlier −22.4% Source Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust Below this On its own page

Cash is as published. Real terms are in 2025-26 prices, using HM Treasury’s GDP deflator. Per resident divides by ONS mid-year population for the area the body serves. Changes compare the same body in consecutive years.

What comes out: results by body

These are outputs and results published alongside the money. They are not what the money bought: demand, geography and recording practice differ between areas, and none of these figures shows cause and effect.

Each English ambulance trust: response times, handovers and incidents
Body	Category 1 (life-threatening): average response, 2026-08	Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08	Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08	Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08
England Details for England	7.9 minutes	28.9 minutes	7.0%	13.8 per 1,000 residents
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08 28.9 minutes Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08 7.0% Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08 13.8 per 1,000 residents
East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust Details for East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust	8.8 minutes	31.8 minutes	9.5%	14.7 per 1,000 residents
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08 31.8 minutes Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08 9.5% Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08 14.7 per 1,000 residents
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust Details for East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust	8.8 minutes	34.3 minutes	13.4%	13.1 per 1,000 residents
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08 34.3 minutes Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08 13.4% Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08 13.1 per 1,000 residents
Isle of Wight NHS Trust (ambulance service) Details for Isle of Wight NHS Trust (ambulance service)	8.9 minutes	28.8 minutes	4.1%	19.1 per 1,000 residents
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08 28.8 minutes Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08 4.1% Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08 19.1 per 1,000 residents
London Ambulance Service NHS Trust Details for London Ambulance Service NHS Trust	7.1 minutes	32.4 minutes	1.2%	14.2 per 1,000 residents
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08 32.4 minutes Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08 1.2% Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08 14.2 per 1,000 residents
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Details for North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust	6.2 minutes	19.8 minutes	1.2%	15.3 per 1,000 residents
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08 19.8 minutes Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08 1.2% Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08 15.3 per 1,000 residents
North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust Details for North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust	7.0 minutes	23.1 minutes	5.6%	12.7 per 1,000 residents
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08 23.1 minutes Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08 5.6% Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08 12.7 per 1,000 residents
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Details for South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust	8.7 minutes	28.7 minutes	1.5%	11.6 per 1,000 residents
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08 28.7 minutes Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08 1.5% Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08 11.6 per 1,000 residents
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Details for South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust	7.4 minutes	29.4 minutes	0.9%	13.7 per 1,000 residents
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08 29.4 minutes Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08 0.9% Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08 13.7 per 1,000 residents
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Details for South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust	9.6 minutes	37.7 minutes	13.3%	15.2 per 1,000 residents
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08 37.7 minutes Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08 13.3% Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08 15.2 per 1,000 residents
West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust Details for West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust	8.0 minutes	20.9 minutes	19.8%	14.6 per 1,000 residents
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08 20.9 minutes Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08 19.8% Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08 14.6 per 1,000 residents
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust Details for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust	7.9 minutes	24.5 minutes	0.7%	13.3 per 1,000 residents
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response, 2026-08 24.5 minutes Handovers taking over an hour, 2026-08 0.7% Incidents per 1,000 residents, 2026-08 13.3 per 1,000 residents

What each measure counts

Category 1 (life-threatening): average response

Mean time from the call to the first ambulance response arriving, for category 1 calls (cardiac arrest and other life-threatening conditions), against the national ambulance response standards for England (Ambulance Response Programme, 2017). Target: 7 minutes (category 1 mean).
Category 2 (emergency, such as stroke or heart attack): average response

Mean response time for category 2 calls. The standard is 18 minutes; NHS England’s planning ambition for 2025-26 was a mean of 30 minutes. Target: 18 minutes (category 2 mean).
Handovers taking over an hour

Share of handovers with a known time that took over 60 minutes (AmbSYS A146 ÷ A140).
Incidents per 1,000 residents

Incidents in the month per 1,000 residents of the area the trust serves (ONS mid-year estimates; the area is the trust’s integrated care boards).

What people say about it

What is behind ambulance delays?

Those who say ambulance service funding and capacity are the main cause

The greatest pressure used to be in winter but underfunding and staff shortages now mean it's frantic all year round. Helga Pile, head of health, UNISON (6 June 2025)
Without enough staff, ambulances cannot operate at full capacity and response times suffer. Jas Athwal MP (Labour), House of Commons (6 March 2025) Checked against the official Hansard text via the Hansard API (the web page blocks automated fetches).
Ambulance services are under incredible pressure but resources have not increased in line with rising demand. Rachel Harrison, national officer, GMB (30 January 2020) Older statement (2020), outside the preferred window.

Those who say hospital handover delays and social care flow are the main cause

Hospital handover delays continue to be a major issue affecting ambulance service performance and the quality of patient care, as they have been for several years now, something the data underlines heavily. Anna Parry, managing director, Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (23 April 2025)
A huge amount of time is lost to ambulance handover delays because there is no space for patients. Ashley Dalton MP (Labour), Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health, House of Commons (6 March 2025) Checked against the official Hansard text via the Hansard API (the web page blocks automated fetches).
Inability to admit to hospital is a key point in the handover delay problem, and the social care talks are a key measure in solving it. Helen Morgan MP, Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, House of Commons (6 March 2025) Checked against the official Hansard text via the Hansard API (the web page blocks automated fetches).

Views are attributed to the people and organisations named, with the date and a link to where they said it. This site takes no side.

What these figures do and don't show

Each nation measures response times its own way. England uses categories 1 to 4 with national standards; Wales moved to a new model in July 2025, which breaks its series; Scotland and Northern Ireland publish their own measures. Times are compared within a nation, never across.
No Treasury figure for ambulances. HM Treasury counts ambulance services inside medical services, so the UK figure here is the sum of the services’ own accounts, for years all of them have.
Handover delays are hospital as well as ambulance. Time lost at hospital handover depends on the hospital’s capacity as much as on the ambulance service.
Vehicle numbers are not published as official statistics for any nation.
Nothing here shows cause and effect.

Figures from data/services/ambulance.json, generated 29 September 2026.

Use this data

The figures belong to the bodies that published them and are used under their terms, listed in Sources for this page; most are Crown copyright under the Open Government Licence. Only our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, published under CC BY 4.0: reuse them, including commercially, if you credit Tekstak Ltd and link back to this page.

Download

Sources for this page

Source	Publisher	Figures as of	Updated	Licence
NHS providers: trust accounts consolidation (TAC) data, 2024/25, 2022/23, 2020/21 accounts	NHS England	—	annual	Open Government Licence v3.0
Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26	Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust	—	annual	Open Government Licence v3.0
Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24	Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust	—	annual	Open Government Licence v3.0
Scottish Ambulance Service Board, Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25	Scottish Ambulance Service	—	annual	Open Government Licence v3.0
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service HSC Trust, Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26	Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust	—	annual	Open Government Licence v3.0
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service HSC Trust, Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25	Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust	—	annual	Open Government Licence v3.0
Ambulance Quality Indicators: AmbSYS, to August 2026	NHS England	—	annual	Open Government Licence v3.0

Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, under CC BY 4.0.

Over the longest run published: cash, real terms and per head

Response times

Vehicles

Where the money goes, level by level

Ambulance services, United Kingdom

England

Scotland

Wales

Northern Ireland

What comes out: results by body

What people say about it

What is behind ambulance delays?

Those who say ambulance service funding and capacity are the main cause

Those who say hospital handover delays and social care flow are the main cause

What these figures do and don't show

Use this data

Download

Sources for this page

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