§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what discussions he has had with the General Dental Council regarding their jurisdiction in assessing whether a dentist meets minimum standards of practice; [90414]
(2) what plans he has to review the statutory responsibilities of the General Dental Council in respect of the professional conduct of dentists. [90415]
§ Mr. DenhamThe General Dental Council has proposed that it is empowered to test and identify dentists who demonstrate a consistently poor standard of performance (but are not suspected of serious professional misconduct). We have welcomed these proposals and intend to use Section 60 of the Health Act 1999 to make the necessary amendments to the Dentists Act 1984.
§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has made to the General Dental Council in respect of the adequacy of its procedures for dealing with serious professional misconduct. [90842]
§ Mr. DenhamWe have full confidence in the General Dental Council's handling of serious professional misconduct cases, but it has let us know that hearing these cases is making heavy demands of the six lay members on the Council. Accordingly we will shortly be acting on the Council's proposal that its lay membership be increased to 12.