Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the existing dental prototype agreement scheme.

Data from the prototype programme in the last three years indicated that there would be significant challenges in implementing the current prototype model more widely. The evidence that suggests if implemented, the contract may not maintain dental access, reduce oral health inequalities and offer overall sustainability within available resources for the National Health Service.

The legislation supporting the programme expires on 31 March 2022 and it will close. However, the information obtained through the programme will inform NHS England’s proposals for dental system reform.