Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to set a firm deadline for rolling out a new NHS dental contract, and if so, when this deadline will be.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to National Health Service dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
There are no perfect payment systems, and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the viability of dental practices of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions set out at Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The employer National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025, and the Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a supervised toothbrushing scheme and what estimate they have made of the number of children that would be covered by such a scheme.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to introducing a national supervised toothbrushing scheme, targeted at three- to five-year-olds living in the 20% most deprived areas of England. Supervised toothbrushing schemes are implemented on a setting-based approach, rather than an individual children approach. The number of children participating in schemes will be determined by rates of local participation.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding they will allocate to establishing a national supervised toothbrushing scheme for children in England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently considering allocations of funding following the Budget on 30 October. We will also set out further details on a national supervised toothbrushing scheme at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many NHS practices either terminated or did not renew their contract to provide NHS dental services in each of the past three years; what was the average size and annual income of these practices during the term of contract; and how that compares with the average income for NHS dental services for practices of a comparable size.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the last three financial years, the number of dental contracts terminated by contractors, based on Primary Care Activity Report data held by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), are as follows:
- 80 in 2021/22;
- 107 in 2022/23;
- 12 in 2023/24.
The monthly data for all contracts is published by the NHSBSA, and is available on their website, in an online only format. The dataset also shows the commissioned activity and contractual payments for all National Health Service dental services provided for each financial year, at a national, commissioner, and contract level.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to introduce to a 'fee per item' system in NHS dental practices.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To rebuild dentistry in the long term, the Government intends to reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of National Health Service dentists. As part of this, we will continue to consider how a full range of payment models can best support the delivery of dental care to patients.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any inequality in pay between NHS dental practices (1) with, and (2) without, high 'unit of dental activity' values.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. As dental practices are private businesses, it falls to them to set employee pay and conditions.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to increase pay for qualified dental nurses.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As dental practices are private businesses, it falls to them to set employee pay and conditions. Dental care in England could not function without the vital contribution of its dental care professionals, including dental nurses. Department officials are exploring how we can better support the whole dental team, including dental nurses, when working in National Health Service dentistry.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 27 October (HL2574), what assessment they have made of the financial impact of suspending prescription charges for 2022/23 on people living with sickle cell disease.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
No specific assessment has been made and we have no plans to implement a suspension. However, officials are working with organisations in the health and care system on how we can continue to protect the health of those with sickle cell disease. NHS England has also launched a sickle cell clinical pathway review, with contributions from patients living with sickle cell disease. Recommendations from this review will be made to NHS England’s Executive Quality Group at the end of November 2022.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) financial, and (2) health, impact of providing free prescriptions for patients with sickle cell disease.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
No specific assessment has been made. Approximately 89% of prescription items are currently dispensed free of charge and there are a range of exemptions from prescription charges, which those with sickle cell disease may be eligible for and already be in receipt of free prescriptions.
The cost of prescriptions can be reduced by purchasing a prescription pre-payment certificate. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions for just over £2 per week. Additionally, people on a low income who do not qualify for an exemption from prescription charges can also seek support through the NHS Low Income Service, which provides assistance with health costs on an income-related basis.