Stephen Kinnock

I congratulate the hon. Member for North Down (Alex Easton) on securing this important debate. I thank him for his work to raise awareness of the challenges facing dental patients in his constituency and across the United Kingdom. It is vital that we work together, across the four nations of the United Kingdom, to tackle the long-standing problems that adults and children have been facing in accessing an NHS dentist when they need one. I also thank other hon. Members and hon. Friends for their powerful contributions to the debate. I know that access to dentistry is a matter of continuing concern for Members and their constituents. The concerns Members have raised support the many testimonies I have heard directly from patients, dentists, members of the wider dental team, and their representatives. In July 2024, we inherited a dental system in crisis. That is evident in the adult oral health survey of 2023, which provides the first picture of adult oral health in England for more than a decade, and shows poor oral health in adults. Among adults with their own teeth, over two fifths—41%—showed evidence of obvious decay, 93% had some form of gum disease, and 19% had one or more potentially urgent dental conditions. This Government are determined to fix that. Our 10-year health plan confirms our commitment to transforming NHS dentistry so that it is fit for future generations. We have established a platform for future success by reducing the NHS dentistry underspend from £392 million in 2023-24 to just £36 million. The decrease in underspend is leading to an increase in NHS dentistry, but I absolutely accept that there is still a long way to go. Over the past 18 months, the Government have made great strides in improving NHS dentistry, not just for patients but for the dental workforce delivering oral care to our nation. My immediate priority when taking up this ministerial post was to ensure that people who need an urgent dental appointment are prioritised and able to access the care that they need quickly. It is essential that we direct care towards those who need it most. We all have a duty to reduce health inequalities, which are sorely felt in NHS dentistry. That is why, since last April, we have been making extra urgent dental appointments available to ensure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. Those extra appointments are available across the country, and are more heavily weighted towards the areas in which they are needed most. We are also incentivising high street dentists to offer further appointments in order to maximise availability for those in need of urgent care. We recognise that access to NHS dental services remains a challenge in certain parts of the country. In addition to our urgent appointments, integrated care boards are recruiting dentists through the dental recruitment incentive scheme—known as the “golden hello” scheme. That initiative offers a financial incentive to encourage dentists to work in underserved areas for a minimum commitment of three years. This Government have heard dentists’ concerns that they do not think the current dental contract is fit for purpose. Talks are under way, including with the British Dental Association, to scope our plans for potential changes. We remain open-minded and keen to consider how different payment models could best improve the delivery of care to dental patients. In reforming the dental contract, we want to focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention and rewarding dentists fairly. We also want to enable the whole dental team to work to the top of their capabilities. But reforming the dental contract is a significant challenge, and there are no quick fixes or easy answers. That is why in our 10-year health plan, we committed to fundamental reform of the dental contract by the end of this Parliament, with significant steps in 2026-27. Talks are under way with the British Dental Association, and we are making progress on these matters. In addition to delivering fundamental contract reform over the longer term, we have already made significant progress through our 2026 reforms. We held a public consultation last summer on changes to the current NHS dental contract to address the pressing issues that dentists and dental teams said they were experiencing. The Government’s response, published in December, took account of the views of the dental sector as well as people with lived experience. Our reforms will utilise the existing dental contract to deliver the right care to the right people, while incentivising dentists to provide more NHS care. By prioritising patients with the greatest needs and making more efficient use of dentists’ time, the changes will ensure that the NHS dentistry budget delivers value for money for the taxpayer. From 1 April, we will start to implement the reforms. For the first time, we are introducing provisions in the dental contract to embed urgent dental care appointments, making it easier for patients to access this care. We are increasing payments to dentists to deliver that care from £42 on average to £75 for that unit of dental activity. We are providing new treatment pathways for patients with complex treatment needs, paid at a set fee of around £250 or £700 depending on the pathway, while enabling and encouraging dentists to deliver more preventive care. These reforms will make full use of the existing dental contract, to ensure that patients receive the right care at the right time, while creating clear incentives for dentists to provide more NHS care. As I say, they will kick in from 1 April. England has more than 38,000 registered dentists, of whom 10,700 are full-time equivalent general dentists delivering NHS care. As we take forward our reform programme to rebuild NHS dentistry, we are clear that strengthening the workforce is key to achieving our ambitions. This Government are committed to publishing a 10-year workforce plan to set out actions to create a workforce that is ready to deliver the transformed service set out in our overall 10-year health plan. We are taking steps to increase the capacity of our dental workforce. As announced in our 10-year health plan, we will make it a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practise in the NHS for a minimum period. We intend that minimum period to be at least three years. That will mean more NHS dentists, more NHS appointments and better oral health.