Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Vera Baird (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 18 April 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dentistry

Question: Welcome back, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that reply and, obviously, we have gone round this block a little bit already. In Redcar, there are two PCTs. In Langbaurgh, 17 out of 17 practices have signed up; in Middlesbrough, 21 out of 22 have signed up, with others keen to expand to fill the gap that has been left. We have a 60 per cent. registration rate, so we are doing quite well. Some local dentists have asked me whether it is practical to conduct a review to ensure that, in six months' time, the new contract is delivering what is predicted. Given what has been said already, Redcar's signing-up rate is clearly out of kilter with the rest of the country, so were the media and the Tory Opposition wide of the mark?

Answer: My hon. and learned Friend is right to congratulate the PCTs in her area on being so successful in negotiations with local dentists. As she suggests, that is not out of kilter with the signing-up rate in other areas. Many patients were unnecessarily worried by the actions of some dentists and dentists' organisations and of Opposition parties. People were told that there would be no NHS dentistry and were encouraged to think that they had to take out insurance provision such as Denplan. In fact, the changes that we have made will lead to improved access for patients and a better deal for dentists.

Secondary information