Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
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 potential impact of the number of NHS dentists currently working in Great Yarmouth constituency on patients' access to urgent care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are determined to rebuild NHS dentistry, but it will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.
We have asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from April 2025.
These appointments are available across the country, with specific expectations for each region. These appointments are more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most.
ICBs are also recruiting posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
We are committed to reforming the dental sector and we will deliver fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on shorter term improvements to the NHS dental contract on 16 December 2025. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with the greatest needs first while incentivising urgent care and complex treatments.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients have been supported (a) nationally and (b) in Woking constituency by the urgent care dental pilot project.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have asked the integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from April 2025.
These appointments are available across the country, with specific expectations for each region. These appointments are more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most.
We are also incentivising high street dentists to offer even more appointments to maximise the availability to those in need of urgent care.
Data on the delivery of urgent dental care will be published annually as part of the NHS Dental Statistics England Official Statistics series. These statistics are released each August and are the primary source of data on the delivery of National Health Service dental care.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department will assess the effectiveness of the urgent care dental pilot project.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have asked the integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from April 2025.
These appointments are available across the country, with specific expectations for each region. These appointments are more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most.
We are also incentivising high street dentists to offer even more appointments to maximise the availability to those in need of urgent care.
Data on the delivery of urgent dental care will be published annually as part of the NHS Dental Statistics England Official Statistics series. These statistics are released each August and are the primary source of data on the delivery of National Health Service dental care.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the 10,910 additional urgent dental appointments allocated to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board have been delivered since April 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have asked the integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from April 2025.
Appointments are available across the country, with specific expectations for each region. These appointments are more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most.
Data on delivery of urgent dental care, including additional delivery, will be published annually as part of the NHS Dental Statistics England Official Statistics series. These statistics are released each August and are the primary source of data on the delivery of NHS dental care.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of services that have been permanently cut from community hospitals following temporary trials in each year for which information is available.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions about NHS services, including in Cirencester, are best taken at a local level, and the responsibility for the delivery, implementation and funding decisions for services ultimately rests with the appropriate NHS commissioner.
All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. Substantial planned service change should be subject to a full public consultation and meet the Government and NHS England’s ‘tests’ to ensure good decision-making.
The Department does not hold information centrally on the number of services that have been permanently decommissioned from community hospitals following temporary trials.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is the Independent Review into Mental Health Conditions taking to capture the views of medical professionals working with patients with mental health conditions, ADHD and autism as part of the review process.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism will appoint an advisory working group. This will be a multidisciplinary group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities, and people with lived experience to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is the Independent Review into Mental Health Conditions taking to capture the views of people with lived experience of mental health conditions, ADHD and autism as part of the review process.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism will appoint an advisory working group. This will be a multidisciplinary group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities, and people with lived experience to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of levels of funding for primary care on levels of demand for secondary and urgent care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are investing an additional £1.1 billion in general practice (GP) to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26, which is the biggest cash increase in over a decade. The 8.9% boost to the GP Contract in 2025/26 is greater than the 5.8% growth to the NHS budget as a whole. Over six million more GP appointments have been delivered in the 12-months to November 2025 compared to the same period last year, building capacity and improving access so that patients can be seen when they need to be in primary care.
As part of the GP Contract funding, since 1 October, GPs must allow patients to contact them via an online form at any time during core hours to request an appointment or raise a query, in addition to telephone and in-person requests. By expanding ease of contact via online access, we expect to reduce pressure on accident and emergency as we know that many patients seek medical care in accident and emergency if they fail to make contact with their GP.
We are also funding the expansion of Advice and Guidance (A&G) to improve two-way communication between GPs and hospital specialists and ensure care is delivered in the right setting. We expect this to increase the usage of A&G and help patients receive the care they need in primary and community settings where appropriate, reducing referrals to secondary care.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures are in place to prevent CHC funding reductions from compromising care for vulnerable patients in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England have made clear that any work to manage costs by integrated care boards (ICB) must be carried out with clear safeguards in place to protect frontline responsibilities.
ICBs remain legally responsible for the operational delivery of NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) and must have regard to the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care, which is available at the following link:
Funding for CHC is not ringfenced, but is calculated using the ICB allocation formula. Individual ICBs should decide how best to use their overall funding allocation to deliver their statutory functions, including CHC. Any ICB measures to manage costs should not impact on an individual’s eligibility for CHC, or their care. This means that eligible individuals must continue to receive appropriate care that meets their assessed needs.
NHS England has issued a good practice guide for CHC to support National Health Service staff by providing practical ways for ICBs to enhance system efficiency and deliver sustainable services.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure people with cleft receive appropriate dental care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that certain groups of patients may be more vulnerable to oral health problems, including patients with clefts.
NHS England commissions services for children, young people and adults with a cleft lip and/or palate. The patient pathway can start from pre-birth and continues into adulthood. Cleft services provide care through multi-disciplinary teams, and the comprehensive care pathway will include elements such as paediatric dentistry, restorative dentistry and orthodontics. More information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d07-cleft-lip.pdf
The Office of the Chief Dental Officer England is in ongoing discussions with members of the Cleft Llip and Palate Association to assess what measures can be taken to better understand and improve access to care for patients born with a cleft.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards across England.