The National Health Service is set to fall well short of its target of ensuring that no one waits more than 18 weeks from seeing a family doctor to completion of treatment, latest official figures suggest.

But while the figures point to waits for diagnostic tests being a key contributor to delays in treatment, private sector contracts originally designed to deliver 1.5m extra tests a year are still being held up by an ever lengthening review in the Department of Health of whether they should go ahead.