§ 6. Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in England were providing national health service treatment for children and adult patients without restriction in 1985 and in 1995. [614]
§ Mr. MaloneThe number of dentists in the general dental services in England was 14,255 at 30 June 1985 and 15,927 at 30 June 1995.
§ Mr. AingerThat answer does not strictly address the question. Does the Minister recall the statement made by the Secretary of State on 15 October this year, when he said that there was continued steady growth in NHS dental services? How does he justify that statement when, in the past two years, 1,900,000 fewer people have been registered with dentists in England and Wales, and more than half the population of England and Wales is not registered with a dentist at all? Does he accept that there has been a serious decline in NHS dentistry over the past few years, and that it is time that the Government addressed it?
§ Mr. MaloneNo, I do not accept what the hon. Gentleman says. I read the exchanges between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the hon. Gentleman before I came to answer the question. My right hon. Friend was right: under this Government, NHS dental services are growing. A record number of NHS dentists are providing them. In Wales, that figure in 1985 was 741; it has gone up to 849. I accept the point behind the hon. Gentleman's question. There are problems in certain parts of the country, which we are addressing—in the long term through the purchaser-provider relationship, as the Select Committee on Health recommended, and in the shorter term through the access fund that we announced, through which 22 schemes are getting under way, and more flexible use of the existing legislation allowing us to appoint salaried dentists.
§ Sir Alan HaselhurstAgainst that welcome background of an increase in the number of NHS dentists, will my hon. Friend nevertheless have regard to the problems that can be created by dentists choosing to leave the NHS, which results in a shortage such as there is now in Saffron Walden? Will he undertake to re-examine the scale of access funds?
§ Mr. MaloneMy hon. Friend is right to point out that there are local difficulties, and of course there are mechanisms now by which we can address them. The access funds that have been announced will, I hope, be evaluated quickly, and if they are proven to be effective, we shall see whether they are the mechanism that we should use to alleviate that particular local need.