Written questions by Dance.

What steps he plans to take to improve public oral health education in rural areas.

In England, local authorities are responsible for assessing the oral health needs, developing oral health strategies, and commissioning oral health improvement programmes for their local area. We have also published evidence-based resources for dental teams on preventive advice to improve their patients’ oral health. This is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/delivering-better-oral-health-an-evidence-based-toolkit-for-preventionWe will be implementing a national targeted supervised toothbrushing programme to children aged three, four, and five years old living in our most deprived communities.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing a set price list for private dental practices.

The National Health Service contracts independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment. Dentists must make clear which treatments can be provided on the NHS and which can only be provided on a private basis, and the costs associated for each. If a patient decides to choose alternative private options, this should be included in their treatment plan.The Department and NHS England do not control the cost of private dental or orthodontic treatment.

With reference to the guidance entitled Reconfiguring NHS services - ministerial intervention powers, published on 31 January 2024, if he will clarify the changes in circumstances following which he may consider and intervene in the same reconfiguration more than once.

The Department will always review each call-in request on reconfigurations, regardless of any previous or concurrent requests.If my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care decides to call in a reconfiguration, as per the Health and Care Act 2022, once he has given direction on a called-in reconfiguration, National Health Service commissioning bodies must implement the decision. The statutory guidance, published January 2024, allows for final decisions on a called-in service change to be revisited in limited circumstances, only when a material change in circumstances may be identified, for example an issue arising that might affect the ability to implement a decision made by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of difficulties faced by NHS patients in Somerset in receiving prescriptions of Creon.

The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. We have not made an assessment of stock levels within Somerset specifically.The Department has been working with suppliers, NHS England and national clinical specialists to address current supply issues with Creon, which is a brand of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT). The supply issues with Creon are impacting countries throughout Europe and have been caused by limited availability of raw ingredients and manufacturing capacity constraints to produce volumes needed to meet demand. These issues have resulted in knock-on supply disruptions of alternative PERT medications.The Department is continuing to work with all suppliers of PERT to help resolve the supply issues in the short and longer term by asking that they expedite deliveries, source stock from other markets and increase production. The Department has also been working with specialist importers of unlicensed medicine to ensure National Health Service patients can obtain unlicensed imports of PERT where appropriate to help mitigate this supply issue. Comprehensive guidance has been issued to the NHS and is being regularly reviewed and updated as the situation changes.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 20545 on Department of Health and Social Care: Correspondence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that 80% of hon. Members receive a response to correspondence in 20 days.

The Department is committed to meeting the target of responding to at least 80% of correspondence from Hon. Members within 20 working days. Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account. We recognise there is room for improvement and we are committed to doing things differently. The Leader of the House of Commons wrote to all Cabinet members in November 2024 to remind Ministers of their responsibilities to provide helpful and timely responses to Members' written parliamentary questions and correspondence.The Government has already taken steps to strengthen its approach to correspondence, with a Ministerial champion for correspondence identified in each department. As the lead Minister appointed for this Department, I am receiving information from my officials on performance and highlighting the importance of this work in communicating with Hon. Members across both Houses of Parliament.

What the criteria are for Ministers to (a) intervene in an Integrated Care Board's reconfiguration proposal and (b) revisit decisions made in those proposals.

The call-in power introduced on 31 January 2024 allows my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to intervene in service reconfigurations within the National Health Service at any stage where a proposal exists and following that intervention, to take or re-take any decision that previously could have been taken by the NHS commissioning body.The Department published statutory guidance in January 2024 which sets out how call-in requests may be considered. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reconfiguring-nhs-services-ministerial-intervention-powers

Whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of his Department's response times to correspondence from hon. Members.

The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from MPs, Peers, and members of the public. The Department receives some of the highest, and most sensitive, volumes of correspondence. This year, we are forec...

Whether he is taking steps to increase access to dental services in rural areas.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural and coastal areas. The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,00...

What his planned timetable is for implementing the supervised toothbrushing scheme.

We are committed to introducing a supervised toothbrushing scheme for three to five-year-olds, targeting the areas of highest need. Further information on the implementation timetable will be confirmed in due course.

What progress he has made on the provision of 700,000 additional dental appointments; and what his target date is for that provision.

The Government is committed to tackling the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To re...

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of recruitment and retention in NHS dentistry; and what steps he plans to take to tackle this.

The Dental Statistics - England 2023/24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) on 22 August 2024, is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324The N...

When he plans to respond to the letter of 1 August 2024 from the hon. Member for Yeovil on the closure of Yeovil District Hospital’s hyper acute stroke unit.

I replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 11 December 2024. I apologise for the delay in responding.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing (a) funding and (b) support for community pharmacies.

Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system. We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by communi...

What guidance his Department has issued to integrated care boards on ringfencing dental budgets in the 2025-26 financial year.

NHS England is responsible for issuing guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) on dental budgets, including ringfencing. NHS England will publish planning guidance in due course.Responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs o...

What steps he is taking to ensure that community mental health hubs and schools are well linked with existing family support services.

The aim of the community mental health hub pilot sites is to be able to support the full range of adults’ needs that are important to recovery, without the need for onward referrals, or for people to navigate the complicated networks of support that they ...