Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that NHS dental services are widely available.

National Health Service dental practices have been asked to meet as many prioritised needs as safely as possible through urgent care, care for vulnerable groups and children, followed by delayed planned care. An additional £50 million for NHS dentistry has been made available for the remainder of 2021/22 to allow more patients to obtain an NHS dental appointment. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing proposals for the reform of the NHS dental contract, working with the British Dental Association. One of the main aims is to improve patient access to NHS care.