§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the current level of access to NHS dentistry; and what measures he is taking to increase access to dental healthcare. [45532]
§ Mr. Milburn[holding answer 16 June 1998]: We are aware that there are localised problems of access to National Health Service dental services in some areas of the country. That is why, in September 1997, we introduced the Investing in Dentistry (IID) scheme. We have made £19 million available through this scheme to help dentists to expand existing practices and to set up new ones in areas of the country where access problems are most acute. To date, we have received over 450 IID proposals from health authorities. In the longer term, we will be piloting the personal dental services which will provide health authorities with the flexibility to tailor dental services more closely to local need. I recently announced 15 pilot schemes, involving over 150 dentists, to be launched in October this year.