§ John BarrettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the impact dental charges are having on the provision of dental health care for people from low income backgrounds; [68825]
(2) what steps the Government are taking to ensure necessary dental health care is provided to those who are working on low incomes and not receiving benefit. [68824]
§ Mr. LammyWorking people who are receiving Working Families' Tax Credit or Disabled Person's Tax Credit at the full rate or maximum credit reduced by £72.20 or less per week do not have to pay National Health Service dental charges. Others on a low income may be entitled to free treatment via the NHS low income scheme and those not entitled to full remission of charges may get partial help under this scheme.
The table below shows the number of exempt adult courses of treatment in England for the years 1996–97 to 2000–01. It is not possible to draw firm conclusions about the impact of dental charges from these figures, but the most likely explanation is that they reflect an improvement in economic circumstances. Research has indicated that increases in charges do not have any significant long-term effect on attendance. There are many factors that influence attendance patterns, the primary ones being attitude and habit.