Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the commissioning of orthodontic services in (a) Central and (b) East Midlands has been discontinued.
NHS England is responsible for commissioning orthodontic services from specialist practitioners in primary care, to meet local need.
NHS England halted orthodontic services in the Midlands and East region due to concerns about the way the process was managed. Across the region NHS England has extended all existing providers contracts for a further two years, which will now expire in 2022.
NHS England will be working across its national team and its Midlands and East regions to undertake a lessons learned exercise. This exercise will inform the decision making around the next steps for orthodontic procurements across those regions.