Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason dental practices providing NHS services are not being supplied with PPE on the same basis as other NHS services.

The Government is working closely with industry, the National Health Service, social care providers and the army to ensure that personal protective equipment (PPE) is delivered to those who need it.

There are different routes by which sectors of the NHS access PPE. In primary care independent contractors, including dentists, the business as usual access to PPE is via wholesalers. During the pandemic period to ensure continuity of supply the wholesalers are being supplied by the Government with the appropriate PPE for onward sale to dentists, opticians and other independent contractors. NHS England and NHS Improvement are also working together with other agencies to ensure that the over 24,000 dentists who provide NHS care have access to fit testing for the FFP2/3 masks needed to safely deliver many dental procedures.