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24 May 2007 : Column 1502W—continued
—continuedSandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts are operating waiting lists for patients seeking to access primary dental care. [138263]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally. It is for primary care trusts to make local arrangements to support patients in accessing national health service dental services.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment her Department has made of levels of demand for NHS primary dental care. [138264]
Ms Rosie Winterton: It is for primary care trusts to assess locally the level of need and demand for national health services primary dental care. The most recent estimate undertaken by the Department suggested that, in any given two-year period, it is likely that some 60 per cent. or so of the population will seek to access NHS dental services. This estimate took into account levels of patient registrations in the early 1990s, when adult registrations lasted for two years and when there were no significant reported difficulties of access to services. The most recent data show that around 56 per cent. of the population accessed NHS dental services in the two-year period ending December 2006, the same proportion as in the two-year period ending March 2006.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the new General Dental Services contract on (a) access to services, (b) quality of care, (c) oral health and (d) the patient experience. [138265]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department will be publishing a report later in the summer, assessing the first 12 months of the new arrangements for local commissioning of dental services and the new contractual arrangements. The most recent data show that the proportion of the population accessing national health service dental services in the two-year period ending December 2006 is the same as in the two-year period immediately preceding the reforms. This suggests that access has remained broadly stable during the transition to the new arrangements. The evidence also so far indicates that the NHS is commissioning a steadily increasing volume of NHS dental services.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methodology her Department uses for assessing levels of patient access to primary care dental services. [138273]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department monitors the numbers of patients who receive national health service care or treatment from a dentist one or more times during a 24 month period. The latest data are contained in ‘NHS Dental Statistics for England Quarter 3: 31 December 2006’ which is available in the Library. It is for primary care trusts to decide locally what other indicators or standards they wish to use to monitor access to services.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many units of dental activity have been allocated to (a) England and Wales and (b) Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust in financial year (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08; [138921]
(2) how many units of dental activity are available to dentists in each primary care trust in England; [138924]
(3) what the average number of units of dental activity available per head of population is in (a) England and (b) Milton Keynes. [138925]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer s 23 May 2007]: Information is not available in the form requested. Information is available on the level of service commissioned.
Primary care trusts (PCTs) commission dental services from local dental providers. Information is collected centrally on the number of contracts each PCT holds and the units of dental activity (UDAs) these represent. UDAs are a way of measuring and giving relative weight to the course of treatments given to patients. The latest information showing the total number of UDAs commissioned as at 31 March 2007 by PCT is provided in a table which has been placed in the Library. Information is available for England only, and is available at:
The annualised number of UDAs commissioned expressed per head of population is 1.55 at England level and 1.36 for Milton Keynes PCT. The latest available population data are as at 2005.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the (a) maximum, (b) minimum and (c) average value of a unit of dental activity is in England; [138922]
(2) what the value of a unit of dental activity is in each dental practice in Milton Keynes. [138923]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer s 23 May 2007]: Data collected by the Department centrally do not identify the value of units of dental activity (UDAs) or provide a basis for comparisons of UDA values between primary care trusts (PCTs) or dental practices. PCTs set contract values and service level requirements locally. UDA values will vary because of a number of factors, including differences in treatment patterns and treatment needs in different areas, the contract values negotiated locally by PCTs and dental practices, and the degree to which PCTs and practices may have agreed service outputs that cannot be measured through patient courses of treatment.
Dental Services: Cornwall
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will assess the likely effect on dental services of the decision by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust not to comply with the decision of the NHS Litigation Authority for the determination of contract activity for dental practices in Cornwall. [137970]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The Department’s understanding is that the primary care trust in question is still in the
process of working through the implications of the NHS Litigation Authority decision with its local dental providers.
Dental Services: Funding
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 May 2007, Official Report, column 1596W, on dental services: funding, how much Dental Service Increment for Teaching funding was made available to each strategic health authority (SHA) for 2007-08; whether SHAs' expenditure of their Dental Service Increment for Teaching funding in 2007-08 is ring-fenced for the stated purposes of the funding; what steps she is taking to ensure that in 2007-08 the Dental Service Increment for Teaching budget is used by SHAs for its planned purpose; and if she will make a statement. [138772]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Dental Service Increment for Teaching (SIFT) funding for each strategic health authority in 2007-08 is shown in the following table.
| SHA | Dental SIFT allocation (£000) |
The Service Increment for Teaching funding was issued as an element of the Multi Professional Education and Training budget, which was allocated to SHA as part of the bundle of central budgets.
The education and training budget was not ring-fenced in order to allow SHA freedom to spend resources according to their own priorities.
However, in 2007-08 a service level agreement and accountability framework has been issued to ensure that SHA are held to account for the training they support for undergraduate dental students. This agreement requires SHA to fund dental placements based on the nationally agreed placement rate, which should ensure that undergraduate dental students receive the necessary support in the future.
Dentures
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the adult population of (a) England and (b) Lancashire under the age of (i) 35, (ii) 45 and (iii) 55 years have false teeth; and what the respective figures were in 1997. [138381]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the requested format, but information is available on the percentage of the adult population of the United Kingdom who have no remaining natural teeth. It is not known what proportion of these have false teeth.
| Percentage of all adults with no remaining natural teeth, United Kingdom, 1998 | |
| Age | Adults with no remaining natural teeth (percentage) |
| Source: Adult Dental Health Survey, 1998, table 2.3.1 | |
Departments: Higher Civil Servants
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the members of the Department Board on (a) 6 May 2005, (b) 5 May 2006 and (c) at present; and what the job title is of each. [135886]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Membership of the Department's Management Board as of the dates requested is set out in the following table.
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