§ 24. Mr. Manuelasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of schools where no dental service is 214 being provided; and how many pupils are involved.
§ Mr. MaclayEvery education authority provides a school dental service, but under present circumstances only a proportion of the pupils can be examined in any one year. In the school year 1957–58, 332,000 pupils were examined and 529,000 were not.
§ Mr. ManuelIs the Secretary of State for Scotland aware that many of our children are not receiving the dental care which they should be receiving and that many of them do not have the facility of a family dentist provided for them? Would the right hon. Gentleman therefore recognise that, until we have an adequate school dental service operating throughout Scotland, these children will not have the necessary attention? I hope that the right hon. Gentleman can give us some reassurance that a service will be very fully operated as soon as possible.
§ Mr. MaclayWe are very anxious that the service should be improved as soon as possible. It must be kept in mind that as many children receive treatment through the general dental service as through the schools service. But I agree that that is not a full answer to the Question.
§ Mr. ManuelThat is the point to which I have been trying to draw the right hon. Gentleman's attention. Many parents do not regard the provision of a family dentist in the way in which they regard the provision of a family doctor. Therefore, these children will not receive attention other than through the school dental service.
§ 25. Mr. Manuelasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he is taking to recruit sufficient dentists to provide an adequate school dental service.
§ Mr. MaclayRecruitment of dentists to the school service is primarily the responsibility of the education authorities. I am assisting by ensuring that the opportunities offered by the school service are brought to the notice of students qualifying from the dental schools.
§ Mr. ManuelIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the authorities are having great difficulty in trying to recruit a 215 sufficiency of qualified people to carry on the dental service? Does he not think that he has some responsibility as Secretary of State for Scotland for giving them the help which they so obviously need to operate this service in the way we all desire?
§ Mr. MaclayI am aware of that responsibility, and I am doing all I can to help by drawing this and other matters to the attention of the deans of the dental schools.