Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure patients are able to access NHS dentists; and what progress has been made on ensuring a full return to face-to-face GP appointments.

An additional £50 million in funding for National Health Service (NHS) dentistry has been made available for the remainder of the financial year to give more patients access to dental care and help tackle the dental backlog. The available appointments will be targeted first at those most in need of urgent dental treatment, vulnerable groups and children.

The Department continues to work closely with NHS England to maximise the number of patients that can be seen safely in dental practices, with an expectation set for NHS dental practices that they will deliver 85% of their contracted activity in quarter four 2021/22.

General Practices (GPs) have remained open throughout the pandemic, offering face to face appointments. They have been asked to prioritise vaccinations and emergency care until the end of the booster campaign We expect patients to experience the same high quality of care regardless of how they access their GP surgery.