Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Graham Stuart (Conservative). It was answered on Tuesday, 14 July 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Access to NHS Dental Services

Question: The hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) is right about dentistry. We have had no clarity from the Minister as to the vision for the future. What should people expect? Is it the plan that most people should go private and not be able to access NHS dentistry? When I chaired a Holderness Health meeting on Friday, the ICB told me that just 39% of people were able to access NHS dentistry within two years. That is the reality for people in rural Beverley and Holderness today. What we would like to hear from the Minister is the vision for the future. What can we expect by 2029-30? Right now, all we get is words and no real clarity.

Answer: I have a lot of respect for the right hon. Gentleman, but I have to say it is a bit rich to be given lectures from the Conservative party, which had 14 years to fix NHS dentistry and did absolutely nothing about it. Our ambition remains to deliver fundamental reform before the end of this Parliament. It is a complex issue—there are various contract models involving capitation, blended capitation and care packages—and we need time to get it right for both dentists and patients, but I assure the right hon. Gentleman that we are working on it and the public consultation will be launched soon.

Secondary information