§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people, who do not qualify for free examinations, have received(a) dental and (b) eye examinations in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [112398]
§ Mr. HuttonData on dental examinations in England is available only for the last two years.
The estimated number of claims for a standard or extensive examination for charge paying patients under the General Dental Service is shown in the following table. The figures are for claims scheduled for payment by the Dental Practice Board for the year's 1997–98 and 1998–99, for England. The number of people will be smaller because some will have more than one examination in a year. Charge payers include some patients whose charges are partly remitted.
England Million 1997–98 1998–99 Standard examination 13.0 13.6 Extensive examination 1.6 1.7 The Department started an annual sample survey of private sight tests in 1993. Estimates of the number of tests undertaken in Great Britain are as follows.
Year Million 1993–94 6.589 1994–95 6.465 1995–96 7.009 1996–97 6.689 1997–98 7.115 1998–99 7.430 Since 1 April 1999, everyone aged 60 and over has been eligible to receive a free, National Health Service sight test and numbers of NHS sight tests have increased by some 50,000 per week in England alone. We expect to see some reduction in the number of private sight tests in 1999–2000 as a result of the increased NHS activity.