To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has plans to introduce a charter for dental patients.
We have no such plans.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to review the working of the capitation system for dental treatment for children; and whether he will introduce an item of service payment formula within the capitation framework.
We keep all aspects of the working of the new dental contract under review. The capitation system includes provision for item of service payments. These are listed under item 41 of the fee scale in the "Statement of Dental Remuneration".
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been paid in pre-entry payments for children on a monthly basis in the period since the inception of the new dental contract.
The information is given in the table.
| Month/Year | Payment (£) |
| October 1990 | 336,560 |
| November 1990 | 4,100,607 |
| December 1990 | 6,928,169 |
| January 1991 | 6,079,356 |
| February 1991 | 6,579,365 |
| March 1991 | 6,709,034 |
| April 1991 | 6,541,420 |
| May 1991 | 5,834,846 |
| June 1991 | 5,301,253 |
| July 1991 | 5,309,673 |
| August 1991 | 4,587,857 |
| September 1991 | 3,349,053 |
| October 1991 | 4,138,035 |
Note: The figures refer to payments made under items 42(a) and 42(b) of the fee scale published in the "Statement of Dental Remuneration".