Streeting's comments came during evidence given to the Health and Social Care Committee on 18 December.

The health and social care secretary said he was ‘up for a debate throughout the NHS about which targets are useful and which ones are not'.

He added: ‘What I want to see over the course of the 10-Year Plan implementation is earned autonomy for our best performers, where we are not looking over their shoulders so much. I think we can let go of some of the control.'

The secretary of state said he wanted ‘more freedom and autonomy' for the best-performing hospitals, adding: ‘I would not feel confident letting go of control for poorly performing providers and poorly performing systems. That's where you need more performance management, not less.'

Streeting's comments came after Prime Minister Keir Starmer set out a ‘purposefully ambitious' target for the NHS to carry out 92% of routine operations and appointments within 18 weeks by March 2029 but failed to commit to other targets, including a pledge to meet four-hour waiting times for A&E.

Speaking after Streeting's evidence, chair, Layla Moran MP, said the committee was ‘reassured' by his commitment to the Mental Health Investment Standard and ‘intrigued' to hear a plan for social care was coming in the new year.

‘Urgent action on social care is sorely needed, and the committee expressed concern over any prevarication,' Moran said.

‘We are currently running an inquiry into the cost of inaction on social care and will start holding evidence sessions on this in January.

‘On the 10-Year Health Plan, it was good to hear the secretary of state tell us that it won't just be a vision and values document but a clear plan of action for delivery over the course of this Parliament, detailing "the how" and not only "the what" of reform.'