§ Lord Colwynasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether in view of the agreement between the Department of Health, the General Dental Council and the dental profession that it would be beneficial to revise the legislation that will abolish the restriction on numbers of corporate bodies that may organise the practice of dentistry, they have any plans to bring forward the proposed revision date of 2002–03. [HL3214]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathWork is under way for the revision to be made during 2002–03. Our intention is to amend Section 42 of the Dentists Act 1984 by using the order-making powers under the Regulatory Reform Act 2001. There are prescribed requirements for preliminary consultation and parliamentary consideration in Sections 5 and 8 of the Act which mean that it is not possible to bring the timetable forward.