Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing free training in practice management to encourage newly qualified dentists to establish their own practices.

Health Education England is responsible for coordinating and quality assuring training places for postgraduate dental training.

Dental Foundation Training (DFT) consists of supervised practice in primary care and aims to prepare Foundation Dentists to be independent practitioners within General Dental Practice.

The DFT curriculum covers the principles of staff recruitment and employment legislation, risk assessment in the workplace, maintenance of patients’ information, records and of equipment for dental practice. This is an integral part of the DFT programme delivered through day sessions and education supervisor dedicated tutorials.