Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to allocate funding for a dental school in West Dorset to increase the local dental workforce.

Tackling the geographical disparities in access to National Health Service dentistry is vital, and the Government welcomes efforts to help deliver this ambition.

Government approval or funding is not required to establish a new dental school in West Dorset. We encourage prospective dental schools to approach the General Dental Council (GDC), who need to approve any new programmes.

Provided a prospective dental school meets the requirements of the GDC and the Office for Students, it would be considered for any future Government-funded training places.

The GDC published guidance for prospective dental schools in January 2025, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gdc-uk.org/docs/default-source/education-and-cpd/das-guidance-for-providers-gdc-january-2025.pdf?sfvrsn=75d82e2a_3/DAS-guidance-for-providers-GDC-January-2025.pdf