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 help improve NHS provision of (a) dental care for pregnant women, (b) radiography services for cancer patients, (c) GP access in areas with significant housing developments and (d) audiology services.

Pregnant women and new mothers are entitled to free National Health Service dental care. The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Woking constituency, this is the NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB.

We will get the NHS diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so more patients survive, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system. We will also be spending £70 million on new radiotherapy machines, to ensure the most advanced treatment is available to the patients who need it.

We are aware of the additional demand and challenges placed upon primary care infrastructure by rapid housing development. We are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to address this issue.

The NHS has a statutory duty to ensure that there are sufficient medical services, including general practices, in each local area, with funding and commissioning reflecting population growth and demographic changes.