Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 July 2021 to Question 35935, how much additional funding by region the Government has provided to reduce waiting lists for NHS dentistry; and how (a) that additional funding and (b) existing funding will be allocated to support that matter.

The Government has provided additional funding to cover the reduction in National Health Service dental patient charge revenue during the pandemic. This funding has been provided at a national level and therefore the information requested by region is not available centrally.

Within existing capacity and funding, dental practices have been to prioritise those with urgent needs and vulnerable patients, followed by those with outstanding routine care. Flexible commissioning has also been used to secure extra capacity in some regions.