26 Oct East of England MPs tell Treasury: Fund dental services our constituents rely on
The British Dental Association has welcomed the wide range of political support calling for sustainable funding to underpin the rebuild of NHS dentistry in England.
In an open letter sent today over 40 MPs from both sides of the House of Commons have followed the recent call from the BDA and Healthwatch England in calling on Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke to ensure the coming budget and Spending Review put the building blocks in place for a sustainable recovery following the pandemic.
Over 30 million NHS appointments have been lost since lockdown, but not a penny of the trailed billions for the NHS recovery are currently earmarked for primary care dentistry.
Led by Yvette Cooper MP, the message is backed by East of England’s Mohammad Yasin, Dan Poulter, Peter Aldous, Clive Lewis, Daisy Cooper, both Mother and Father of the House Harriet Harman and Sir Peter Bottomley, and MPs from across the political spectrum and every region of England.
British Dental Association Chair Eddie Crouch said:
“The breadth of voices here reflects the depth of the crisis facing families across England.
“Providing the funds to rebuild a decent NHS dental service isn’t a partisan issue.
“The Treasury has a choice, and investment here can offer a brighter future for millions of patients.”
Letter from MPs:
The Rt Hon Simon Clarke MP
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
London SW1A 2HQ
26 October 2021
Dear Chief Secretary,
NHS dentistry funding
We are writing following the joint letter the Chancellor received from the Chair of Healthwatch England Sir Robert Francis QC and the Chair of the British Dental Association Eddie Crouch last week to echo their concerns about the current state and the future of NHS dentistry.
Dentistry is now the number one issue raised with Healthwatch and our own mailbags can attest that lack of access to dental services is a problem felt in every corner of the country. Over 30 million NHS dental appointments have been lost due to the pandemic, with Healthwatch England and the BDA warning that this eye-watering backlog is not just causing huge difficulties in patients accessing timely care, but will deepen health inequalities too.
In past years, NHS dental budgets have failed to keep up with inflation and population growth. We understand none of the additional £5.4 billion announced last month to help tackle COVID-19 backlogs will be used to support our badly hit dental services. As NHS dentistry faces this unprecedented challenge, it is crucial that resources are in place to ensure the recovery, underpin promised reform, and guarantee the long-term sustainability of the service our constituents rely on.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Yvette Cooper MP
Sir Peter Bottomley MP
Debbie Abrahams MP
Peter Aldous MP
Apsana Begum MP
Paula Barker MP
Paul Blomfield MP
Ben Bradshaw MP
Sarah Champion MP
Daisy Cooper MP
Rosie Cooper MP
Judith Cummins MP
Philip Davies MP
Marsha de Cordova MP
Peter Dowd MP
Rosie Duffield MP
Tim Farron MP
Andrew Gwynne MP
Emma Hardy MP
Harriet Harman MP
Wera Hobhouse MP
Dame Diana Johnson MP
Kim Johnson MP
Darren Jones MP
Barbara Keeley MP
Kim Leadbeater MP
Clive Lewis MP
Rebecca Long-Bailey MP
Caroline Lucas MP
Steve McCabe MP
Andy McDonald MP
John McDonnell MP
Esther McVey MP
Layla Moran MP
Anne Marie Morris MP
Rachael Maskell MP
Dan Poulter MP
Virendra Sharma MP
Derek Twigg MP
David Warburton MP
Mohammad Yasin MP
Valerie Vaz MP
Martin Vickers MP
CC Sajid Javid MP, Maria Caulfield MP, Jeremy Hunt MP
