Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase the proportion of NHS funding allocated to dentistry over the remainder of this Parliament.

The Department settlement announced at the 2025 Spending Review means that annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, a £53 billion cash increase, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. This will take the NHS resource budget to £226 billion by 2028/29, the equivalent to a 3% average annual real terms growth rate over the Spending Review period.

The details of budget allocations within departments are still being determined. The Department is working to provide the detail and certainty needed on future funding and spending plans, including for NHS dentistry.

NHS planning guidance for 2025/26 confirms that dental budgets are ringfenced. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority.