Dental Services (Hansard, 11 July 1997)

§ Ms Keeble
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what amount was spent on Community Dental Services(a) nationally and (b) broken down by health authority in 1995–96 and 1996–97. [7382]

§ Mr. Milburn
The level of expenditure on the Community Dental Service is decided by individual health authorities. For 1995–96, we have only information provided by National Health Service trusts on their expenditure on Paediatric Dental Community Services. This expenditure in England was £88.295 million. Information for 1996–97 will not be available until the end of the year.
635W

§ Ms Keeble
To ask the Secretary of State for Health which health authorities have, during the last five years, asked the Secretary of State to use his powers under section 56 of the National Health Service Act 1977 over the provision of the general dental service and of the Community Dental Service in their areas. [7381]

§ Mr. Milburn
Where there is evidence of inadequate provision of general dental services in any area or part of an area, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health may use his powers under Section 56 of the National Health Service Act 1997 to help health authorities secure the adequate provision of services. This section does not apply to the Community Dental Service. The health authorities who have applied to the Secretary of State for Health since 1992 under Section 56 are shown in the table. The table is based on the new health authority boundaries which came into effect on 1 April 1996.
Health authorities who have applied to the Secretary of State for Health under Section 56 of the NHS Act 1977 since 1992.

Avon

Barnet

Bedfordshire

Birmingham

Bromley

Buckinghamshire

Calderdale and Kirklees

Cambridgeshire

Cheshire^*

City and East London

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

Coventry

Cumbria^*

Derbyshire

Dorset

Dudley

Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow

East Sussex, Brighton and Hove

East Riding

Essex^*

Gloucestershire

Greenwich and Bexley

Hampshire^*

Hereford and Worcester^*

Humberside^*

Isle of Wight

Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster

Kent^*

Kingston and Richmond

Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham

Lancashire

Lincolnshire

Liverpool

Manchester

Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth

Norfolk^*

North Derbyshire

North and East Devon

Northamptonshire

North Staffordshire

North West Anglia

North West Lancashire

North Yorkshire

Oxfordshire

Salford and Trafford

Shropshire

Solihull

Somerset

Staffordshire^*

South Cheshire

South and West Devon
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South Lancashire

Southampton and South West Hampshire

Suffolk

Surrey^*

Wakefield

Warwickshire

West Sussex

Wigan and Bolton

Wiltshire

Worcestershire

Wolverhampton

The majority of applications made by the former Family Health Service Authorities (FHSA), which were abolished in April 1996, have been assigned to the new health authorities which replaced them.
Where this was not possible the FHSA is indicated by an asterisk.

§ Ms Keeble
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if, under the guidelines set out in section D2 of the health service guidelines on primary care dental services (HSG (97) 4) of 14 March, anyone refused NHS dental treatment on the NHS because of a shortage of NHS dentists in their area will be entitled to use the Community Dental Service. [7385]

§ Mr. Milburn
Health authorities are expected to look first to the Community Dental Service to act as a safety net for patients unable to secure National Health Service treatment, before any alternative measures are considered.