§ Mr. Willie W. Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, in the light of the recent report from the National Audit Office on the weakness of the special investigation unit of the Dental Estimates Board, he will reconsider the request from the British Dental Association for extra staff to investigate fraudulent National Health Service claims by dentists.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo. Changes in the procedures of the special investigation unit of the Dental Estimates Board were introduced following a report by the statutory auditors.
The British Dental Association has recently asked for an increase in the number of dental officers employed by our Department who are primarily concerned about the quality of treatment provided by dentists. We are satisfied, however, that the present number is sufficient to provide reasonable checks and we do not believe that increasing the numbers would make any significant contribution to reducing the level of undiscovered fraud.