Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 12
21st Report - Fixing NHS Dentistry
Published 4 Apr 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Fixing NHS Dentistry All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The new government’s commitment to contract reform includes reference to a focus on prevention,27 and also to a programme of supervised toothbrushing for three, four, and five–year olds “most in need”.28 Tooth decay is a leading cause of hospital admissions for children in this country,29 and as DHSC told us in the session, prevention is preferable to needing treatment from a dentist.30 Strengthening preventative oral healthcare measures is an important accompaniment to ensuring access to dentists, particularly for children. The government has now published further information on its proposed supervised toothbrushing scheme,31 and has confirmed its intention to expand community water fluoridation in the 20 C&AG’s Report, para 1.25 21 Q 27 22 C&AG’s Report, para 1.26 23 Q 25 24 NHS Dental Contracting Framework, 15 October 2024 25 Qq 77 and 97 26 Letter from the Interim Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Care and the Chief Executive Officer at NHS England relating to a follow up on the oral evidence session held on 13 February 2025 on Fixing NHS Dentistry, 18 March 2025 27 NHS Dental Contracting Framework, 15 October 2024 28 Schools: Dental Health, answered 4 February 2025 29 C&AG’s Report, para 1.10 30 Q 18 31 DHSC, Supervised toothbrushing for children to prevent tooth decay, published 7 March 2025 11 north–east.32 However, as DHSC noted, a relatively low percentage of the UK population has water fluoridation in comparison with some other countries, and there are other measures (including fluoride varnish) that can also be highly effective at protecting teeth.33 The 2024 dental recovery plan
From: Public Accounts Committee, 21st Report - Fixing NHS Dentistry (HC 648), 4 April 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-first Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026.
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-first report from Session 2024-26
Published 18 September 2025.
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-first report from Session 2024-25
Published 10 July 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each recommendation set out in the response, giving target dates for several actions and noting that dental contract reform "will take time".
- On contract reform, a realistic timetable for a new contract "will be determined by the scale of changes under consideration and following consultation". Amendments to the current contract would be expected in 2026-27, "subject to consultation and any necessary regulatory changes".
- On the dental recovery plan, NHSE is to write to the Committee in Autumn 2025 with its analysis of the main initiatives. Dental vans are excluded because the government "decided not to implement a national programme of mobile dental vans".
- On funding for 2025-26, NHSE "would also note that there has been no reduction in dental funding", and says the ringfence rises from £3,974 million to £4,104 million and is extended into 2026-27.
- On the workforce, the department will "carefully consider the outcome of the consultation" on a graduate "tie-in" and then publish its response, with a target date of Winter 2025.