Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of patients access to dental services in (a) the Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council area, (b) the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority area and (c) England.

National Health Service dental provision in England, Barnsley and South Yorkshire has been impacted by the pandemic, which has reduced the number of available appointments due to necessary infection prevention and control procedures.

An additional £50 million for NHS dentistry was made available for the remainder of 2021/22 to provide access to NHS dental care appointments. NHS dentists have been asked to prioritise available capacity for urgent care, care for vulnerable groups and children, followed by delayed planned care. Patients can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre or NHS 111 if seeking urgent care.