Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of NHS dentistry, particularly in areas with significant waiting lists.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist and the Government is taking action to improve this. We have asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments across the country, with appointments more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most.

ICBs are recruiting posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in underserved areas for three years.

The Government is also considering the outcomes of the consultation on immediate improvements to dental care and will publish a response shortly.

It is a contractual requirement for NHS dentists to update their NHS website profiles at least every 90 days to ensure patients have up-to-date information on where they can access care. This includes information on whether they are accepting new patients. ICBs can review which practices in their area have not updated their profile in a 90-day period, and work with practices to ensure websites are up to date.

We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability. The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform by the end of this Parliament.