Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the ability of people across Yorkshire to access NHS dental services; and what steps his Department is taking to increase access to NHS dentistry.

National Health Service dental practices, including across Yorkshire, have been asked to meet as many prioritised needs as is safely possible. They are prioritising urgent care, care for vulnerable groups and children, followed by delayed planned care.

An additional £50 million in funding for National Heath Service (NHS) dentistry has been made available for the remainder of the 2021/22 financial year to give more patients that have been unable to obtain an NHS appointment access to dental care. The available appointments will be targeted first at those most in need of urgent dental treatment, vulnerable groups and children.

Patients across Yorkshire who are struggling to find a local dentist can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for assistance or contact NHS 111 if seeking urgent care.

Work to reform the NHS dental contract is underway and is being led by NHS England and NHS Improvement working closely with the Department and the British Dental Association. One of the main aims is to improve patient access to NHS care.