NHS Dental Contracting Framework

The transcript covers several oral questions to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, regarding the effectiveness of the NHS dental contracting framework. The questions were asked by Alice Macdonald (Norwich North), Lewis Atkinson (Sunderland Central), and Jon Pearce (High Peak), all from the Labour party. They highlighted the severe shortage of NHS dentists in their constituencies, with many constituents unable to access routine or urgent dental care. They urged the Secretary of State to take immediate action to reform the dental contract and improve access to NHS dentistry. In his response, the Secretary of State acknowledged the "worst crisis in the history of our national health service" in NHS dentistry, with 13 million people in England having unmet dental needs. He pledged to work with the British Dental Association to reform the dental contract and rebuild NHS dentistry. The Secretary of State also committed to providing 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments and recruiting dentists to areas of greatest need. In follow-up questions, the MPs pressed the Secretary of State further. Alice Macdonald asked him to meet with her and representatives from the University of East Anglia to discuss their proposal for a new dental school in the East of England. Lewis Atkinson and Jon Pearce reiterated the dire situation in their constituencies, with people unable to access even urgent dental care. The Secretary of State acknowledged the scale of the challenge and the 14 years of Conservative failure in NHS dentistry. He reassured the MPs that he would keep them informed of progress as the government works to reform the dental contract and improve access to services, particularly in rural and underserved areas. The transcript also included an intervention from Dame Harriett Baldwin, a Conservative MP, who asked about the impact of the NHS dental recovery plan in the Worcestershire and Herefordshire area. The Secretary of State dismissed the recovery plan as ineffective, stating that "NHS dentistry is non-existent in huge parts of the country" and that the Conservatives had "squandered and destroyed" the legacy of the NHS.