§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much, and what percentage, of the NHS budget was spent on NHS dentistry in(a) 1992, (b)1997 and (c) the latest 12 months for which figures are available. [121993]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe gross national health service spend on the general dental service (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS)1 and the proportion this represents of total gross NHS expenditure for 1992–93, 1997–98 and 2001–02 are shown in the following table.
NHS dental services: Gross2 expenditure on NHS dental services, 1992–93, 1997–98 and 2001–02—England Gross NHS dental service expenditure3(£ million) Gross NHS dental service expenditure3as percentage of total gross NHS expenditure 1992–93 1,306 4.4 1997–98 1,348 3.6 2001–024 1,674 3.2 1All years give GDS expenditure. 2001–02 also includes PDS expenditure. PDS pilots began in 1998 and a proportion of GDS expenditure was moved into a separate budget to reflect this. Spend on PDS pilots has been included in the 2001–02 figures. This includes spending on Trust-led pilots as well as PDS/GDS. 2Gross expenditure is tae total expenditure on the service before the deduction of patient charge income. 3All years give GDS expenditure. 2001–02 also includes PDS expenditure. Expenditure on community and hospital dental services has not been included in this table; information on the total funding for these services is not collected centrally. 4Figures for 2001–02 are on a resource basis. This change in accounting practice had the effect of increasing the levels of expenditure attributed to that year. As a result the NHS expenditure total increased by about £200 million compared with the cash system used for previous years. The amount of money drawn down through the GDS funding arrangements is determined by the amount of work dentists carry out on NHS patients. The rate of increase of spend has been moderated by an increase in the number of dentists treating patients privately. The proportionate spend on dentistry has also been affected 545W by the major additional investment across the NHS in recent years; total NHS expenditure has increased at a faster rate than expenditure on dentistry.
The gross NHS GDS expenditure shown above for 2001–02 does not include the £35 million Modernisation Fund and £6 million Dentistry Action Plan Payments.
The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill currently before the House proposes the introduction of local commissioning for NHS dental services. Funding currently held and administered centrally would then become part of primary care trusts' general allocations. Unlike the current arrangements, resources would remain with the PCT should a dental practice reduce its level of commitment to the NHS. In the longer term, allocations will need to take oral health inequalities into account.