Dental Services: Rural Areas
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of improving (a) the funding of and (b) support for NHS dentistry services in rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
The National Health Service in England invests £3 billion in dentistry every year. NHS planning guidance is now published for 2025/26 and confirms that dental budgets are ringfenced. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority.
We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in rural areas. The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the ICBs across England. For the Camborne and Redruth constituency, this is the NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB.
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