Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide an estimate of the number of units of dental activity that have been performed by dentists in England since the covid-19 lockdown on routine dentistry was lifted on 8 June 2020.

Data on the number of units of dental activity that have been performed by dentists in England since June 2020 is not available at this time. National Health Service dental activity statistics from June to December 2020 will be included in the ‘NHS Dental statistics for England 2020-21, Biannual Report’, due to be published on 25 February. Dental practices have been able to open for face to face NHS care from 8 June, with urgent provision backed up by over 600 urgent dental care centres across the country. NHS England and NHS Improvement have set out guidance that dentists should focus on care that is urgent, care to vulnerable groups and then overdue routine appointments.

A steady increase in dental activity has been made possible following updated Infection Prevention and Control guidance issued by Public Health England. Contractual arrangements for quarter four have been introduced by NHS England and NHS Improvement requiring dental practices to deliver 45% of contracted units of dental activity from 1 January to 31 March 2021 to be deemed to have delivered the full contractual volume. This is expected to increase available NHS dental care for patients.

The Department is working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Chief Dental Officer for England to increase levels of service, as fast as is safely possible.