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 ensure the accessibility of NHS dental services in York.

National Health Service dental practices in York have been asked to maximise safe throughput to meet as many prioritised needs as possible, focussing first on urgent care and vulnerable groups followed by overdue appointments. NHS England and NHS Improvement have also issued guidance on flexible commissioning to share best practice on targeting the available capacity at those most in need.

We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England to increase access, including for routine care, as quickly as possible, taking into account the ongoing infection prevention and control and social distancing requirements.