Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dental practices handed back their NHS contract in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. This included the transfer of all funding, Units of Dental Activity, and the management responsibility for National Health Service dentistry.

As set out in Our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry, we are working on further reforms to the 2006 contract, in discussion with the dental profession, to properly reflect the care needed by different patients, and more fairly remunerate practices. We expect to develop options for consultation with the dental profession in advance of a further announcement later this year. Any changes would be phased in from 2025 onwards. We do not hold data centrally on how many dental practices handed back their NHS contract in 2021, 2022 and 2023.