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 adequacy of the provision of dentistry in Halton in the last (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) 12 months and (d) two years.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges patients face when 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 and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. The NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB is responsible for having local processes in place to identify areas of need, and determine the priorities for investment across the ICB area. NHS Dental Statistics, published by NHS Digital, provides data on dental activity in England. The latest annual report is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statistics