Ambulance sector

Incidents (data for June 2026)

• There were 815,127 ambulance incidents this month, compared with 759,645 in June 2025. This is the highest figure for June, and the fourth busiest month overall, since records began (August 2017). This is shown in Figure 3.  
  
  
• There were 83,593 category 1 incidents (life-threatening injuries and illnesses), which is the highest figure for June on record, and 400,295 category 2 incidents (emergency calls).  

Figure 3

Response times and handovers (data for June 2026) 

The national ambulance response time targets are seven minutes for category 1 incidents and 18 minutes for category 2 incidents. As part of the plan to recover urgent and emergency care, NHS England adjusted the category 2 target to 30 minutes, on a temporary basis.  

• The average response time across England for category 1 incidents was eight minutes and five seconds compared with seven minutes and 52 seconds for May. This is slower than the seven minutes and 55 seconds in June 2025, and is missing the national standard of seven minutes. The last time the standard was met was more than five years ago in March 2021. 
  
  
• For category 2 incidents, the average response time was 32 minutes and 31 seconds, compared with 29 minutes and 13 seconds in May. This is slower than the 29 minutes and 34 seconds in June 2025 and is not within the 30-minute recovery target. 
  
  
• There were 405,966 ambulance handovers where the handover time was known. The mean handover time was 29 minutes and 11 seconds, compared with 28 minutes and 48 seconds in June 2025.