Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department’s plans are for reducing bureaucracy in dentistry by giving the General Dental Council more discretion to assess the qualifications of overseas dentists, in line with the powers used by the General Medical Council.

The Department is working with the General Dental Council on legislative proposals which will allow it greater flexibility to expand and improve on the registration options open to international applicants, which includes the Overseas Registration Exam. We aim to launch a public consultation on these proposals later this year.