Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England on the transition of NHS dentistry to integrated care systems; and what support he is putting in place to support that transition.

Since 1 July 2022, nine integrated care boards (ICBs) have responsibility for the commissioning of one or more pharmaceutical services, general ophthalmic services and dental services. NHS England plans to delegate commissioning responsibility to all remaining ICBs for all pharmaceutical, general ophthalmic and dental services from 1 April 2023. NHS England will work with systems to strengthen involvement in decisions during 2022/23 and support ICBs’ development and readiness for these delegated responsibilities from April 2023.