Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board awarded dental contracts subsequent to its March 2024 procurement outside of a formal procurement process without transparently offering all NHS contract holders the opportunity to apply; if so, what assessment they have made of these awards; and if commissioning flexibility has been applied in such cases, why similar flexibility has not been extended to contracts awarded through the March 2024 procurement.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. Therefore, responses to these questions should be requested directly from the North East and North Cumbria ICB.