To ask the Minister of Health, in relation to the Family Practitioner Services General Dental Statistics for Northern Ireland 2023-24, how these statistics will be used to determine the level of unmet need in NHS dentistry.

In addition to the annual publication of the General Dental Statistics, Family Practitioner Services in the Business Services Organisation also publishes quarterly updates. Officials monitor quarterly and annual publications in order to remain informed about trends. Officials also have access to real-time observation of trends via SPPG, which administers the operational aspects of General Dental Services, though this information will not have the accuracy of official statistics.

My Department is aware that some areas of the country have historically lower registration and treatment rates. This is largely due to geography; areas with a low population density have a lower density of practices, which means that patients may have to travel further to access treatment. Some patients will be unwilling or unable to travel and will therefore not use the services.

However, the commissioning of General Dental Services is undertaken on a regional basis, rather than within HSC Trust boundaries.

Neither does the Department commission Health Service places in practices, most of which offer a mixture of Health Service and private dentistry. General Dental Practitioners are independent contractors and as such are not required to register new patients. The Department does not have a role in deciding the location of new practices as this is a business decision made by practice owners.

In order to provide Health Service dental care, dental practitioners must complete a year of Foundation Training in a Health Service practice in Northern Ireland or NHS practice elsewhere in Great Britain. The Northern Ireland Medical & Dental Training Agency have worked to improve the geographical distribution of Dental Foundation Training places. As a result, there will be 7 fully funded Health Service training placements in the west of the province in 2024/25, compared with just 1 in 2023/24.

Despite registration rates remaining relatively high across the region, with over two-thirds of the Northern Ireland population registered with a practising health service dentist, I am aware that some practices are reducing their level of Health Service commitment.

For these reasons, the focus of my Department recently has been on improving access to General Dental Service in general, and particularly for high-need patients, and establishing options to support the sustainability of dental practices while reform is progressed. This has resulted in the £9.2 million additional investment for 2024/25, which was announced on 27 March 2024.