Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the 4% increase in NHS dental charges on access to dental care for low-income (a) people and (b) families.

National Health Service dental charges provide an important contribution to pressurised NHS budgets. It is particularly important to maintain this contribution at sustainable levels, whilst we work to improve NHS dentistry. In setting the charges, we strive to strike a balance between the contribution the charges represent to the overall NHS budget, and the cost to charge-paying patients, recognising the primary policy objectives of improving oral health and guarding against creating financial barriers in accessing NHS dentistry.

We consider that the latest 4% uplift is proportionate, as it remains below the Consumer Prices Index, and represents a £1 increase to a Band 1 course of treatment. To ensure everyone has access to dentistry when needed, there are a range of exemptions to NHS dental patient charges for those who need the most financial support.

The Department has produced an Impact Assessment with respect to the 4% uplift of NHS dental charges for patients in England from April 2024, which is available from the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2024/48/pdfs/ukia_20240048_en.pdf

In line with our Public Sector Equality duty, the Department has also considered the impact of the change on equality, and on those from disadvantaged groups.