To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis applicants to practise as dentists in the NHS are able to claim exemption from the requirement to undertake vocational training in the UK prior to acceptance; and if he will make a statement. (149502)

Dentists who hold appropriate European diplomas are exempt from the requirement to undertake vocational training. Dentists who, in the four years before applying for inclusion in a primary care trust’s (PCT) dental performers list, have experience in primary care for a total period of at least two years or an equivalent period part time in the community dental service, the armed forces of the Crown, or the performance of personal dental services prior to 1 April 2006, are also exempt. Through their responsibility for clinical governance and the management of their performers lists PCTs are accountable for the quality of the services provided by all dentists on their lists.