Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to enable people living in York to access an NHS dentist.

From July 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked practices to deliver 100% of contracted units of dental activity and 100% of units of orthodontic activity to improve access for patients safely.  An additional £50 million was allocated for National Health Service dentistry for the final quarter of 2021/22 to provide urgent care to patients. Of this funding, £8,633,000 was made available to the North East and Yorkshire region, including York. NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre offer assistance for patients wishing to access dental services or via NHS 111 for those seeking urgent care.

The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with stakeholders, including the British Dental Association, on improvements to the NHS dental system. This aims to improve access to NHS dentistry, including in York.