Lord Kamall
Main Page: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Kamall's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
NHS Dentistry
Lord Kamall Excerpts(2 days, 8 hours ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
There is a cavity that needs filling. I defer to the usual channels, the senior leadership, the leaders of all parties, the Convenor of the Cross Benches, and all the other bodies that decide who should be in this House.
Lord Kamall (Con)
My Lords, I say to the noble Baroness that when it comes to comedy, she is doing an excellent job as a Minister.
Noble Lords
Lord Kamall (Con)
I am sorry—I hope she takes that in the way it was intended. She is a wonderful comedian and a wonderful Minister. How about that? Hopefully, I have redeemed myself in the eyes of the Minister.
One of the frustrations of the past on this issue has been the battle between the Treasury and the department over the unit of dental activity—the UDA—as the noble Lord, Lord Rennard, said. That is how much dentists are paid for each patient they see. Can the Minister tell your Lordships about the conversations that her department is having with the Treasury? For example, how willing is it to raise the UDA in dental deserts to encourage local dentists who exist in those areas but do not see NHS patients? What conversations is the department having also with dental charities in the shorter term to help fill some of these gaps?