Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting MP gave evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee on Monday 14 July.
At the start of the session the Chair asked the Secretary of State about dentistry, stating that at a hearing last week it was suggested that the financial envelope for dentistry would remain unchanged. The Secretary of State was asked why, given the scope and ambition of the plans for dentistry, more resource had not been allocated.
In response to this question the Secretary of State replied that the first thing to do was to make the most of the money already allocated to dental services. He noted that in opposition he had been critical of dental underspend and that this was being addressed now by the 700,000 urgent dental care appointments. He also reiterated the need for fundamental contract reform, but recognised the tension between ambition, demand and funding.
When pressed on whether he would reconsider the dental allocation, the Secretary of State replied that they will “do as much as they can, as fast as they can on NHS dentistry.”
You can watch the full hearing on Parliament TV, with the dental section starting at 14:11.
