Dentistry is scandalously underfunded and is the only element of the English health service that has to scrape by on a budget lower than it had when the Conservatives came to power.

The government has brought in uncaring and counterproductive contracts, which explicitly deter dentists from helping people with complex problems.

This is why I told the EDP 24 that I backed an amendment to the Health and Care Bill about dentistry, which was rejected by the Government. It didn’t – and can’t – fix all of these problems. But it’d be at least a first step in the right direction for hundreds of local people who can’t get the dental care they need.