§ Ms. PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women were eligible for free dental service during pregnancy and one year after the birth of the child, for each of the last 10 years.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe information requested is given in the table.
General dental services Number of expectant or nursing mothers eligible for exemption from
NHS dental charges in England
Year Monthly average number eligible 1981 960,000 1982 940,000 1983 940,000 1984 950,000 1985 980,000 1986 990,000 1987 1,020,000 1988 1,040,000 1989 1,030,000 1990 1,050,000 Note: The numbers of women eligible for free NHS dental treatment during pregnancy and one year after giving birth have been estimated from the monthly number of live and still births in England in the years shown.
§ Mr. McCartneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pregnant women/nursing mothers have been exempted from NHS dental charges in each of the last 10 years; what has been the cost of their exemption in each year; and what estimate she has made of the saving to the Exchequer of removing this exemption.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe information is not available in the form requested.
Information on the number and cost of courses of treatment given to expectant and nursing mothers is given in the table.
328W
General Dental Services—England Number and cost of courses of treatment
to expectant and nursing mothers
Year Number of courses Cost of courses (£) 1982 885,410 23,590,780 1983 893,290 24,783,350 1984 897,630 27,109,140 1985 910,650 28,889,630 1986–87 976,420 34,162,740 1987–88 986,030 35,021,050 1988–89 1,022,800 39,076,930 1989–90 1,052,010 40,799,800 1990–911 n/a n/a 1991–92 1,120,283 45,998,319 1 Data for 1990–91 are not available. It is not possible to estimate the cost of the exemptions over this period both because the charging regimes have changed many times over the period and because some women will have been able to claim exemption or remission on one or more grounds. This factor affects the interpretation of the table.
No precise estimate has been made of any saving to the Exchequer of removing this exemption.