Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional dental training commissioners he plans for each of the next five years.

In England, the number of dentistry school places is regulated by the Government and controlled through annual intake targets operated by the Office for Students. In academic year 2019/20, the undergraduate target intake for dentistry was 810.

Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for commissioning, coordinating and quality assuring training places for postgraduate dental training. In 2019/20 HEE commissioned 868 dental foundation training posts. For dentists continuing training beyond the foundation programme, in order to work in a hospital setting, HEE commissioned 501 dental core training posts and 409 dental specialty training posts.

Government funding for any potential future expansion in dental training places would be dependent upon workforce planning requirements and the outcomes of a future Spending Review. The Government is committed to ensuring the number of dental training places is in line with England’s workforce requirements and continues to monitor the effectiveness of the current arrangements.