Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

NHS Dentistry

Tuesday 1 March 2022 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government is increasing dental provision through three methods: raising dental activity levels to 85%, using a 50 million access fund to add 350,000 appointments, and reforming the contract to remove disincentives.
  • Local commissioners have 4.7 million to increase appointments, and the government encourages constituents to speak to their local commissioners regarding funding.
  • The government is exploring ways to improve dental training to increase the number of dentists in the field.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Sheryll Murray Con
NHS
Context

The MP is concerned about the lack of NHS dental services in her constituency, noting that constituents are facing difficulties accessing these services.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to increase provision of NHS dentistry. My constituents tell me there are no places available with NHS dentists and I want to know what the Government is doing now following the covid pandemic.

Answer from Maria Caulfield

There are three ways we are increasing dental provision: by increasing dental activity levels to 85%, through the £50 million access fund which will increase appointments by 350,000 and encouraging local commissioners to apply for that funding; and reforming the contract to remove perverse disincentives. The MP's constituency has an allocation of £4.7 million from this fund, and I encourage her to speak to her local commissioners to make use of it.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer provided does not address the specific issue of no available places for NHS dentists in the MP's constituency or provide a timeline for resolving this situation.

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Q2 Sheryll Murray Con
NHS
Context

Following the initial question, the MP is concerned about ongoing issues with NHS dental services in her constituency, noting that constituents are still facing difficulties accessing these services.

Question

My constituents continue to face no places available for NHS dentists. Will the Government now make this a priority following the covid pandemic?

Answer from Maria Caulfield

Local commissioners have an allocation of £4.7 million from a £50 million fund to increase appointments by 350,000 and I encourage my hon. Friend to speak to her local commissioners to make use of that funding. We are also looking at improving dental training so that we can get more dentists into her area.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not directly address the question about prioritizing the issue or provide a clear commitment on how the situation will be resolved in her constituency.

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Q3 Rachael Maskell Labour (Co-op) York Central
NHS
Context

The MP is concerned about ongoing issues with NHS dental services, noting that constituents are facing long waiting times and being directed to private providers.

Question

Since the last debate on dentistry, another 10,000 of my constituents have received letters telling them they will have to go private. They already wait five years for an appointment. When will they actually get to see a dentist?

Answer from Maria Caulfield

If a contract has been handed back, local commissioners should look for new providers. I am happy to meet the hon. Lady and her commissioners to see what is going on to make that happen.

Not addressed: The answer did not address when constituents will actually be able to receive NHS dental services or provide a clear timeline for resolution of ongoing issues with access.

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