Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) moving dental staff other than dentists onto NHS terms and conditions and (b) including them in the NHS pension scheme.

The National Health Service contracts with independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment in primary care settings. As a result, pay and conditions are agreed between staff and the practice holding an NHS contract. This provides practices with the flexibility to recruit to meet local needs. The NHS Pension Scheme is an occupational pension scheme which can be accessed by staff engaged primarily in the delivery of NHS services.