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 dentists in the Newton Abbot constituency.

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. For the Newton Abbot constituency, this is the Devon ICB.

We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025.

ICBs are recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability. The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.

We recently held a full public consultation 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. The consultation closed on 19 August. The Government is considering the outcomes of the consultation and will publish a response in due course.