Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of when NHS dental contract would increase the availability of NHS dental appointments in areas currently experiencing limited access.

Over the past year, integrated care boards have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. 1.8 million additional courses of National Health Service dental treatment have been delivered in the seven months between April to October 2025 compared to the corresponding months prior to the general election.

We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. And from April 2026, we will be implementing reforms to the current NHS dental contract which are expected to improve access for patients with urgent and complex needs. A full impact assessment on the reforms has been published and is available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2026/42