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 improve accessibility to NHS dental services for disabled users without access to transport.

The Government’s ambition is to make sure that everyone who needs a dentist can get one, and we are tackling the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and by recruiting new dentists to areas that need them most.

Community dental services are available to people whose additional needs may mean they are not able to be treated at high street dental practices. Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents

The NHS contracts with independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment in primary care settings. Dental practices are businesses and are therefore able to decide how they operate, providing they remain compliant with the appropriate regulations.

Integrated care boards are responsible for undertaking special care oral health needs assessments, to identify areas of oral health need, to inform local commissioning intentions, and to determine the local priorities for investment.