§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on widening access to NHS dentistry. [127498]
§ Mr. HuttonWe have already made good progress towards improving access to dental services. Initiatives include Investing in Dentistry, in which £10 million in grants have been approved in return for promises of nearly 900,000 new National Health Service registrations. Personal dental services explore new ways of providing dentistry for people who cannot easily or conveniently use existing services. A third wave of 14 pilots will be operational by the end of the year, bringing the total number of pilots to more than 50. Dental access centres are one form of PDS pilot. Access centres provide a full range of dental services, at convenient times and in convenient places, to people who cannot at present easily access NHS dentistry. There will be 33 pilots operating from more than 50 access centres by April 2001.
We have accepted the recommendations of the Doctors and Dentists Review Body for a commitment scheme to reward loyalty to the NHS. The scheme will cost £17 million per annum in England, and is currently being negotiated with the profession.
Further initiatives to improve access to services will form part of our plans for modernising NHS dentistry, which will be published this summer in conjunction with the National Plan for the NHS.