Speeches by Gibson.

“Does my hon. Friend not agree that part of the problem is that we are only talking about emergencies? The Secretary of State, in his first week in the job, talked about working hard to look at preventive medicine. That should apply to dentistry as well. Does my hon. Friend not agree that we need to look at a serious ti…”

“Family farms are a key part of the fabric of our countryside, as farmers in my rural constituency tell me every day. They have spent all weekend trying to get my attention just to tell me that. What really worries me about the changes to inheritance tax in the Budget is that they will directly and disproportionately af…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I thank the hon. Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Sam Carling) for securing this important debate. No one should fear for their future, struggle to put food on the table or worry about heating their homes. The cost of living crisis has been a huge finan…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. As I have mentioned, the ICB that represents my constituency has quite a significant underspend in its dental budget. That is quite often because dental practices do not wish to take up the contract as they find that the payments system, and its use of units of dental activity, fails to sup…”

“I agree with the hon. Gentleman. It is disappointing that those who have failed to address this issue over many years still do not seem to see it as important. Although the dental contract was introduced under a Labour Government, it was clear that, after a length of time, there was an obvious moment when it should hav…”

“Yes—thank you, Richard.”

“I agree. Hold on. [Interruption.] Sorry.”

“I do agree with the hon. Member. The real issue for rural areas is, again, access to public transport. Dental provision might be relatively close in theory, but public transport does not allow people to get to the dentist. The issue of rurality is important and needs to be addressed. Analysis conducted by the Rural Ser…”

“I do agree with my hon. Friend, and I will mention that point later in my speech. It is no surprise to me that children in her constituency are having similar problems to children in my constituency. According to NHS England, only 33% of adults under the NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire integrate…”

“I agree that dentistry has been failed over the past 14 years. According to the House of Commons Library, 51,000 children have not seen a dentist in Wiltshire in the past year.”

“I am grateful to have secured this evening’s Adjournment debate on access to NHS dentistry in rural areas. In my first few months as the Member of Parliament for Chippenham, there has been one issue that has been raised with me almost every day: the decision by Hathaway dental practice in Chippenham to close its doors …”

“Since the Budget, many healthcare providers in my constituency have told me how worried they are about last week’s announcement. These healthcare providers, which include GP surgeries, dental practices, healthcare operators and pharmacies, are small businesses operating in the heart of our communities. They did so much…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend; that speaks to the fact that we are being left with a dental desert, with no sign of relief.”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I remind the House that the Conservative Government had the last decade to reform the dental contract but failed to do so. I therefore implore the new Government to act now with two simple actions. First, they should introduce a timeline for reforming the NHS dental contracts system. Th…”

“rose—”

“As I am sure the hon. Member will remember, I have already mentioned the serious issue of public transport in rural areas on several occasions. I could not agree with him more. I thank the House once again for allowing me to make the case for improved NHS dental care, and I implore the Minister and his colleagues to do…”

“I agree that a timeline for reforming the dental contract is vital; that is what I am asking for. If we lose this opportunity and our NHS dentists leave the system, we will be in an increasingly difficult place. Across Wiltshire, for those not already registered with an NHS dentist, it is absolutely impossible to get o…”

“My hon. Friend makes an interesting point that I was not aware of. From discussing this matter with dentists, it was my understanding that these days, nobody is actually registered with a dentist; they are merely allowed to come regularly, and if they do not, they are taken off that dentist’s lists. My understanding wa…”

“I agree with the hon. Member. The disparity is clear. As he mentioned, rural areas are being hardest hit by our broken NHS dental contract system. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be much hope on the horizon. Denplan tells me that 90% of dentists plan to reduce their NHS commitment in the next two years and that t…”

“Will the right hon. Gentleman and the Chancellor remember that working people also live in rural areas? I was disappointed that the word “rural” was mentioned only twice in an hour during the Chancellor’s speech, and then only as an aside. No mention was made of the south-west of England, where there are serious pocket…”