Speeches by Kinnock.

“I congratulate the University of East Anglia on its accreditation through the GDC as a dental school. That is a huge step in the right direction, and we strongly support it. The next step is that the Office for Students has to allocate places. The Government have not funded any new dental school places since 2007. I am…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for North Down (Alex Easton) on securing this important debate. I thank him for his work to raise awareness of the challenges facing dental patients in his constituency and across the United Kingdom. It is vital that we work together, across the four nations of the United Kingdom, to tack…”

“I really appreciate serving under your chairship, Ms Lewell—I think it is one of the first times I have done so. I thank the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Liz Jarvis) for securing this debate; I know that dementia support in Hampshire is a cause that is close to her heart. It is also very close to my heart—sadly, I lost m…”

“I am not familiar with the details of that case, but I get the impression that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is. A really important part of our manifesto commitment was to end the 8 am scramble, which is all about access, and that is precisely what we are doing. In September 2024, patient satisfaction wit…”

“As my hon. Friend knows, we inherited an NHS dentistry system in crisis. This Government are determined to fix it with fundamental reform of that vital service by the end of this Parliament. Since last April, we have delivered extra urgent dental appointments nationwide, and last month we announced new measures to get …”

“Rapid housing and population growth can put real pressure on GP services. That is why we are investing an extra £1.1 billion in general practice, taking total GP funding to £13.4 billion. We are also creating 250 neighbourhood health centres, upgrading surgeries through a £102 million fund, and working with the Ministr…”

“I have a huge amount of respect for the hon. Gentleman, but I have to say that I am a little taken aback to be told about the lack of progress when the Conservatives had 14 years to sort out NHS dentistry. Nevertheless, we are engaging intensively with the BDA. The interim reforms, which kick in from April, will make a…”

“That does sound somewhat baffling, given that there is demand for the service. Pharmacies play an absolutely vital role in our communities. I would be happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss the details further.”

“My hon. Friend is right that, although we are making progress on urgent treatment with the urgent dental access centre that he mentioned, there is a real challenge with new routine care in Hartlepool. We are looking to improve that unacceptable situation, which we inherited, by offering dentists £20,000 to work in unde…”

“My hon. Friend and I have discussed this matter. I hope that her issues in accessing the commission, which I know has made contact with her, have been resolved. The commission is, of course, an independent body, but I am in no doubt at all that parliamentarians will hold it to account through the mechanisms at their di…”

“We are committed to delivering 250 centres by 2035, with a progressive roll-out over this Parliament. Early sites are focused on areas of greatest need, with consideration of factors including deprivation and access. Integrated care systems are in the process of planning the best holistic local configuration of a neigh…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on the pun in her question. There is good news, in that we are making progress on children’s oral health, but we accept that we still have a way to go on the broader picture. We are making 27,196 additional urgent appointments available in the Humber and North Yorkshire ICB area. Our refor…”

“I think there is some dispute over the number that was on the front page of the Express. We are looking into that number and will certainly come back to the hon. Gentleman on it. On his broader point about the decisions that the Chancellor took at the last Budget, I suppose I have a question back to him: would he be cu…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question and congratulate him on the addition of the facial hair. I am glad to see that he is joining that particular club—I think it is the only club we may both be a member of! The Government are aware of the pressure on pharmacy; it is a major challenge that we are facing. We gave …”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out this issue. As I have said, the reforms that we announced in December will make a major difference, because dentists have not been incentivised to do NHS dentistry. That requires us to significantly increase the UDA, as we are doing, but there is a range of other measures…”

“My hon. Friend is right that NHS mental health, ADHD and autism services have never fully met the needs of the population in a tailored, personalised or timely way. The independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, autism and ADHD will explore the current challenges facing clinical servic…”

“The hon. Gentleman will have noted that we have committed to tie-ins for future dentists going through the training programme. It costs the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds to train a dentist, and we believe it is absolutely right that a significant percentage of their time should be put into NHS dentistry. In …”

“We are recruiting 8,500 more mental health workers by the end of this Parliament. The Mental Health Act 2025 reforms will ensure that people with a learning disability, autistic people and people with the most severe mental health conditions have greater choice and control over their treatment and receive the dignity a…”

“We have the £102 million primary care estate fund, which can help with refurbishments and improving the functionality of primary care, particularly GP surgeries. If the hon. Member writes to me about the specifics of that case, I am sure that the relevant officials can give her the answer she needs.”

“I am a little bit surprised; I think that that technology does exist. I have visited a couple of GP practices where the online booking system gives the patient the option to specify the doctor that she or he would like to see. I would be happy to connect my hon. Friend with relevant officials in the Department, so that…”