Major boost for millions of NHS dental patients with new changes to get you urgent care easier

PATIENTS across England will be able to get urgent dentist appointments more easily thanks to a major overhaul of NHS dentistry.

The Government will proceed with a raft of reforms, the most significant modernisation of the NHS dental contract in years, following a consultation with the sector and the public, published on:- 16 December 2025.

By prioritising patients with the greatest needs, the changes, which will be in place from April 2026, will make sure the NHS dentistry budget, estimated at around £4 billion, delivers value for money for the taxpayer by diverting funds into better and more effective treatments for those who need it most.

For example, a patient with tooth decay in several teeth or severe gum disease would require complex treatment. Currently, they would need to be treated over multiple appointments. For a patient, this is hard to coordinate and book with a dentist, while for a dentist, this would be costly and time consuming.

With the changes, this patient could secure a single comprehensive package of treatment with a dentist over a longer period, tailored to their needs and including oral health advice. This could save a patient up to £225 in fees. For the dentist, they will be incentivised to deliver this under our new standardised payment package.

This will support thousands of patients to receive better care on the NHS.

Patients also struggle to find dental practices that treat people with urgent needs and have to choose to live with the pain or travel out of their local area to find somewhere that can treat them.

These reforms will make urgent dental care a core part of what NHS dental practices must provide through the new contract, making it easier for people to access an urgent appointment at their local NHS dental practice, saving them from travelling out of their area.

Urgent care may be for issues including:- severe tooth pain, dental infections, trauma to teeth, or other conditions that need rapid treatment, and dentists will be fairly incentivised to treat these on the NHS.

The sweeping reforms work alongside the Government's wider rescue plan for dentistry, including:- the rollout of urgent and emergency care appointments, and community water fluoridation schemes proven to reduce decay. 

The Government has also rolled out a pioneering national supervised toothbrushing programme for:- 3 to 5 year olds, which will support up to:- 600,000 children this year, with over 4 million toothbrushes and toothpastes delivered already.

Minister for Care Stephen Kinnock said:- "We inherited a broken NHS dental system and have worked at pace to start fixing it; rolling out urgent and emergency appointments and bringing in supervised toothbrushing for young children in the most deprived areas. Now we are tackling the deep-rooted problems so patients can have faith in NHS dentistry; these changes will make it easier for anyone with urgent dental needs to get NHS treatment, preventing painful conditions from spiralling into avoidable hospital admissions.  This is about putting patients 1st and supporting those with the greatest need, while backing our NHS dentists, making the contract more attractive, and giving them the resources to deliver more. This marks the 1st step towards a new era for NHS dentistry after a decade of decline, 1 that delivers for patients and our dedicated dental professionals." 

In a boost for children's dental health, dental nurses will be encouraged to apply fluoride varnish to children's teeth helping maintain good oral health. Dental staff will receive a fairer payment for applying fissure sealants to protect children's teeth from decay, in a shift towards preventing poor dental health. 

To improve retention, NHS dental teams will also receive more support through annual reviews, learning and development, in addition to Government funding to support sick leave and guidance on NHS contractual terms and benefits.

Mayor signs 1st of its kind partnership to train thousands of construction workers

THE Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has signed a 1st of its kind training agreement to tackle an estimated shortfall of 9,000 building workers in the Region.

The landmark collaboration between the Combined Authority (CA) and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) marks a major step forward in ensuring the Region has the skilled workforce needed to deliver ambitious housing, retrofit and infrastructure projects.

A memorandum of understanding was signed at a £22m apartment project being built by housing association Torus in Liverpool's Baltic Triangle, supported by £960,000 from the CA's Brownfield Land Fund.

It is the 1st formal partnership under the CITB's new national initiative to create a connected Construction Skills Ecosystem across England, aligning national and Regional priorities

The agreement allows the CA to analyse live data from building sites across the Region to pinpoint skills gaps and train the estimated 9,000 extra workers needed over the next 5 years.

A new Construction Workforce Development Unit will also be created to act as a broker between public authorities, employers and training providers. The pilot scheme will be tested and could be rolled out to other Regional authorities.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:- "The Liverpool City Region has successfully won huge sums of funding to deliver some of the most ambitious housing and infrastructure projects in the country. From a £700m housing programme which will deliver 16,000 homes, to HyNet energy, as well as four new train stations. But to deliver on these plans, we need a skilled, diverse workforce. This partnership with CITB is a 1st for any Mayoral Combined Authority and shows the leadership role we're taking to tackle skills shortages head-on. Together, we'll create better opportunities for local people, improve apprenticeship success rates, and embed fair employment and inclusion in construction."

CITB Chief Executive Tim Balcon said:- "This agreement marks a major step forward in aligning national and Regional priorities to meet the construction sector's challenges. By working closely with the Liverpool City Region, we can ensure training provision and workforce planning are responsive to local needs, helping employers and communities thrive."

The Government has pledged to build 1.5 million new homes in England by 2029. Under the programme, the City Region recently received its single biggest investment into housing with £700m to build new social and affordable homes.

In June, Mayor Rotheram joined the Construction Skills Mission Board, representing metro mayors across England and aimed at recruiting an additional 100,000 construction workers annually.

This year, the Combined Authority is investing a record £68m funding adult skills, Further Education colleges and training providers, including:- £12m for Skills Bootcamps.

Colleges have developed cutting edge training facilities, including:- a green energy skills centre and a modular building project. In 2024, an investment of £2.4m saw more than 2,500 students studying construction, planning and the built environment.

The CITB is to work alongside Mayoral Combined Authorities, starting with Liverpool City Region, to improve long term workforce planning and investment in construction skills.

These partnerships will form the foundation of a National Construction Skills Ecosystem, supported by a new Construction Mayoral National Network and culminating in the 1st National Construction Skills Summit in 2026.

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