Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department taking to improve access to dentistry care in Nottinghamshire.

In the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), in the 24 months to June 2024, 42% of adults were seen by a National Health Service dentist, compared to 40% in England. In the 12 months to June 2024, 60% of children were seen by an NHS dentist in the ICB, compared to 56% nationally.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the ICBs across England. For the Ashfield constituency, this is the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB.