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 availability of NHS dentists in (a) Portsmouth, (b) the South East and (c) England.

In 2020/2021, there were 23,733 dentists with National Health Service activity in England, 4,136 in the South East and 90 in Portsmouth. Between January and March 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked practices to deliver at least 85% of contracted units of dental activity and 90% of units of orthodontic activity to improve access for patients safely. NHS dentists have been asked to maximise safe treatment to meet as many prioritised needs as possible, focussing first on urgent care and vulnerable groups followed by overdue appointments.