Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities are able to access NHS dentistry in (a) Norwich and (b) Norfolk.

In September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’ which sets out how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to National Health Service dental services for patients of all ages, whilst making the NHS dental contract more attractive to dental practices. These changes have been implemented, including through regulations that came into effect on 25 November 2022. NHS England is holding further discussions with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders for plans for additional reforms of the NHS Dental System coming shortly.

In circumstances where a guardian or parents are unable to access an urgent dental appointment for their child directly through a NHS dental practice, they are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance.

Information on the number of children who have seen a dentist or hygienist in Norwich in the last six or 12 months is not available.

Dental Statistics, published by NHS Digital, provides information on NHS dental activity in England and is available from the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statistics/2021-22-annual-report

The table below shows that the proportion of children in Norfolk County Council who have seen an NHS dentist in the last 12 months (to June 2022) is almost 10% lower than the national average. Published data is not available for Norwich.

NHS England commissions community dental services to offer dental care to vulnerable patients, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, who cannot be treated in a general NHS dental practice or may be in locations that cannot access NHS dental services.