To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will increase NHS dental funding to improve (a) accessibility, (b) workforce retention and (c) patient outcomes; and what steps he has taken to ensure there is equitable access to dental services.
Answered on
22 January 2025
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments, and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
The NHS in England invests approximately £3 billion in dentistry every year. NHS England is responsible for issuing guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) on dental budgets, including ringfences. NHS England will publish planning guidance for 2025/26 in due course.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the ICBs across England. For the Boston and Skegness constituency, this is the NHS Lincolnshire ICB.