§ Paddy AshdownTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the number of NHS dentists who are overseas qualified dentists; and if he will make a statement. [144602]
§ Mr. HuttonOn 30 September 2000, there were 2,656 dentists providing General Dental Services in England who had qualified outside the United Kingdom. That is 15 per cent. of the total number of dentists providing General Dental Services.
§ Paddy AshdownTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the(a) proportion and (b) number of (i) adults and (ii) children who were registered with an NHS dentist in each (1) health authority and (2) county in England and Wales for each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [144601]
§ Mr. HuttonThe information for England has been placed in the Library.
The number of patients registered with a dentist for National Health Service treatment has declined since 1993 although in the past 12 months the numbers have started to 320W increase. The decline was mainly due to dentists choosing to increase their private practice, to more dentists working part-time, the reduction in the registration period since 1996 and the elimination of duplicate registrations.
Comparable data for 1991 are not available because registration was only introduced in October 1990 and the number of patients registered was still growing until 1992.
Information about Wales is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Wales.
Data are not available by county.