Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of NHS dentistry appointments in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency.

The Government plans to tackle 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 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 integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency, this is the NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB. ICBs have been asked to start making extra urgent dental appointments available from April 2025. The North East and North Cumbria ICB is expected to deliver 57,599 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme.