Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 24
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 idea of identifying ICBs to commission mobile dental vans seems a particular example of an ineffective interaction between a national policy and an appropriate measure on the ground. NHSE and DHSC identified twelve ICBs to deliver the initiative,69 but none of these ICBs have since chosen to invest in a dental van.70 DHSC acknowledged that ICBs know their own “patches” the best, and that allowing them to use that knowledge to decide on the best way to provide dental service would be preferable to trying to direct that from Whitehall.71 NHSE also acknowledged the importance of working with local commissioners, especially given that dentistry is a delegated service, to share best practice and to have accountability for implementing reforms locally.72 We note that this will be tested in the proposed method for actioning the new government’s commitment to delivering an additional 700,000 urgent appointments.73 In written evidence after the evidence session, NHSE and DHSC told us that dental commissioning teams within ICBs will be working to make these appointments available as soon as possible from April 2025.74 67 Q 55 68 C&AG’s Report, para 2.11 69 NHSE, Dental recovery plan update, Annex B, published 10 May 2024 70 Q 49 71 Q 51 72 Q 48 73 Q 101 74 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 16 2 Future reform of NHS dentistry Establishing the true cost of NHS dentistry
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.