Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her oral statement of 7 February 2024 on NHS Dentistry: Recovery and Reform, Official Report column 251, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using her powers under the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 to increase the number of foreign dentists qualified to practice in the UK.

My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has made an assessment of the merits of using powers under the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 (PQ Act) to increase the number of overseas-qualified dentists able to practice in the United Kingdom.

The PQ Act affirmed the Government’s commitment to protect the autonomy of regulators, including the General Dental Council, to assess overseas-gained professional qualifications and make decisions about whether individuals meet the requirements to work in a regulated profession in the UK.

The PQ Act contains a power for the Government to implement international agreements. This power was used to implement the UK’s free trade agreement with the European Economic Area and European Free Trade Association member states in 2023, meaning that UK regulators are now required to recognise comparable qualifications obtained in Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Work is currently underway to use the PQ Act power to implement the UK-Swiss Recognition of Professional Qualifications Agreement by 1 January 2025.