Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to increase the number of new adult patients registered by NHS dental practices in Cumbria.

The data is not held centrally in the format requested.

NHS England is responsible on behalf of Secretary of State for Health and Social Care commissioning dental services to meet local need and assessing the level of that need. NHS England advises that it is aware of and taking action to address identified shortfalls in dental provision particularly, but not exclusively, in South Cumbria. Action taken already in South Cumbria has included offering practices additional funding to take on additional patients.