Norfolk MPs call on Government to urgently prioritise ‘underserved’ dental areas
By: Communications
A group of Norfolk MPs, all representing different political parties, have come together to call unanimously for the Government to prioritise the East of England in dental training.
UEA has been working with MPs for several years to campaign for the allocation of undergraduate dental training places which will help address the region’s acute shortage of dentists.
Undergraduate dental training places are funded by the Government and therefore the number of places is capped.
MPs from all parties in Norfolk have been helping UEA make the case for new funded places, and for the East of England to be prioritised when those new places become available.
UEA has received the accreditation required from the General Dental Council to provide undergraduate dental training.
The next step is for the Government to send a ministerial instruction to the Office for Students to allocate undergraduate places. As soon as this happens UEA will bid for places in the hope that dental training can start in Norwich in the autumn of 2027.
Prof David Maguire, Vice-Chancellor of UEA, said: “UEA is grateful for the cross-party support from MPs in our region who have helped us campaign for a new dental school to serve the East of England. Our region is the only one in the UK that does not have dental undergraduate training capability.
“UEA has achieved accreditation and is ready to start training dentists and we are joining forces with our MPs to ask the Minister to issue an unequivocal instruction to the Office for Students to prioritise ‘underserved’ areas in allocating new funded training places.”
Steff Aquarone, Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk, said: "Delivering the dental school for Norfolk is more crucial than ever and we simply cannot tackle the soaring need for high quality dental provision without it.
“While funding has been secured for the school to go ahead, its future is still uncertain and tied up in bureaucracy and I am urging the Government to get on with delivering what they have promised without any further delay".
Rupert Lowe, independent MP for Great Yarmouth, said “Residents in the Great Yarmouth constituency are living in a dental desert - individuals have had to pull their own teeth out.
“It needs to improve, and it needs to improve soon. I will support any effort to deliver better access to dental services.”
Alice Macdonald, Labour MP for Norwich North, said: “I've repeatedly called for a new dental school here at UEA to end the dental desert in Norfolk and give residents in Norwich better access to the care they need.
“We’re the only region without a dental school – that’s why this call is so urgent. The Government has taken welcome action so far to tackle the dental crisis and I’ll keep pressing for action on this vital part of the picture until we secure the new dental places we need."
Jerome Mayhew, Conservative MP for Broadland and Fakenham, said: “The best way to fix the dental desert in Norfolk is to set up our own dental training school so we can sort the problem ourselves.
“The UEA agrees and has constructed a dental school at risk.The General Dental Council agrees and has approved the plans to provide dental training.
“Even the government appears to agree, but it still hasn’t instructed the Office for Students to award a contract to fund the student dental places.
“We are speaking up for Norfolk with one voice to call on the Government to finish the job and make the award.”
Adrian Ramsay, Green Party MP for Waveney Valley, said: “I fully support the dental school at the University of East Anglia, and since being elected I have repeatedly pressed the Government on this issue.
“It is unacceptable that the East of England remains the only region in the UK without a dental school.
"For the dental school to become a reality and benefit our community, the Minister must instruct the OfS to prioritise underserved areas like East Anglia when allocating funded places for 2027.
“This will be critical to increasing the number of dentists and tackling the dental desert in our region.”
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