Whitehall source says it would only allow NHS to ‘stand still’ on waiting lists rather than reduce them

The NHS is set to get an inflation-busting 4% rise in its budget next year but health chiefs have said it may not allow them to cut waiting lists for another 18 months, the Guardian has learned.

The health service is on course to be one of the big winners in the spending review on 30 October if it gets a proposed 4% real-terms uplift from the Treasury. This could translate to a cash injection of about £7bn for the health budget in England, while other departments are facing much tougher settlements and some likely to have to cut capital spending in year.