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Written question asked by Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 20 October 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 22 October 2025. It was answered by Stephen Kinnock (Labour) on Thursday, 30 October 2025 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.


Dental Services: Surrey

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the number of children who have been seen by an NHS dentist in Surrey in line with the national average.

Answer

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Epsom and Ewell constituency, this is the Surrey Heartlands ICB.

We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025. The Surrey Heartlands ICB is expected to deliver 6,585 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme.

We recently held a full public consultation on a package of changes to improve access to, and the quality of, NHS dentistry, which will deliver better care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. The consultation closed on 19 August 2025. The Government is considering the outcomes of the consultation and will publish a response in due course.

We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability. The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
83640
Session
2024-26
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Children Dental services Surrey
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk