Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Neil O'Brien and Richard Foord

Tuesday 1st November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Richard Foord (Tiverton and Honiton) (LD)]

T8. In rural areas such as the west country, NHS dentistry is more of a distant memory than a vital service. Does the Minister agree that more must be done to boost NHS dental services in rural areas, and will he commit himself to reforming the NHS dental services contract to ensure that it meets patient need and properly incentivises dentists to take on NHS patients?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Neil O’Brien)]

In the hon. Gentleman’s local NHS this year there were 758 active NHS dentists, up from 736 in the previous year. I have already mentioned some of the steps we are taking to tackle the problem of dental deserts and ensure that everyone in the country can see the dentists—and the GPs—whom they need to see.