§ Mrs. BallardTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department takes to monitor the quality of private dental treatment. [18400]
§ Mr. MilburnThe General Dental Council is the regulatory body responsible for dental treatment provided outside the National Health Service. The Department, which provides funding for the continuing education and training of dentists who have an arrangement to provide general dental services under the National Health Service, gets regular feedback from the Council on matters like professional conduct and fitness to practise. The great majority of general dental practitioners carry out some NHS work even if they also undertake private practice.
§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to ensure access to NHS dentistry for all residents of the South Staffordshire health authority district. [18487]
§ Mr. MilburnOn 9 September we announced the "Investing In Dentistry" initiative, which makes available up to £9 million in 1997–98 to help health authorities improve the availability of National Health Service dentistry in areas of the country where there are particular problems of access to NHS dental services.