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 increase the number of available units of dental activity.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. Dentists delivering NHS dental care are contracted to deliver a certain number of Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) per year. ICBs can commission high performing dental practices to deliver up to 110% of their contracted UDAs.

The Government’s ambition is to fundamentally reform the dental contract by the end of this Parliament. As a first step, we are consulting on a package of changes to improve access to, and the quality of, NHS dentistry which will deliver better care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. Further information on the consultation is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms

The consultation was launched on 8 July and will close on 19 August.