Tag: consultation

New dentists required to deliver NHS care under UK Government plans

Consultation asks whether newly qualified dentists should commit to delivering a minimum amount of NHS work after graduating or repay some training fees

  • Proposals would require dental graduates to work in the NHS for several years after graduating or repay their training fees
  • Part of Westminster government and NHS plan to recover dentistry and boost the dental workforce through 40% training expansion

Newly qualified dentists could be required to deliver NHS care for several years after they graduate under a government consultation being launched yesterday.

Training an individual dentist can cost up to around £300,000, of which costs in the region of £200,000 are not repayable by the student.

However, a growing proportion of dentists are opting to go straight into private practice or are choosing to deliver little to no NHS work shortly after completing postgraduate dental foundation training.

Of more than 35,000 dentists registered with the General Dental Council in England, just over 24,000 delivered some NHS care in England in 2022 to 2023. This means nearly one-third of registered dentists are not contributing to NHS dentistry and may be working solely in private practice.

Under its consultation, which will run for 8 weeks, the government is asking whether newly qualified dentists should commit to delivering a minimum amount of NHS dental care for a minimum number of years after graduating, and whether they should repay some of the public funding invested in their training if they do not.

Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “I want to make access to dentistry faster, simpler and fairer for everyone – and part of this is ensuring that dentists are supporting the NHS with their skills and expertise.

Taxpayers make a significant investment in training dentists, so it is only right to expect dental graduates to work in the NHS once they’ve completed their training.

“This builds on our dental recovery plan, which set out how we will create up to 2.5 million extra appointments this year alone and is already showing results with an extra 500 practices providing appointments.”

Thursday’s proposals form part of the government’s overall plan to accelerate the recovery of NHS dentistry from the COVID-19 pandemic and reform how NHS dentistry operates.

They build on the aims of NHS Long Term Workforce Plan to expand the dental workforce and improve access to NHS dental care, especially in under-served parts of the country. 

The UK government believes working in the NHS will give dental graduates the best start to their careers, by giving them the broadest range of experience, great support from strong teams of dental professionals and the most comprehensive training.

Experience in NHS dentistry helps to produce well-rounded clinicians who can work alongside different professions and deliver high quality and safe patient care, and can be supplemented by additional work in private dentistry. The government believes this balance is better for our skilled dental workforce and better for the patients they treat.

NHS dentists are currently delivering a greater volume of NHS treatment than the year before, with ‘courses of treatments delivered’ increasing by 23% in 2022 to 2023, compared to the previous year.

Primary Care Minister Andrea Leadsom said: “I want to thank our hard-working dentists for their efforts in treating more and more patients over recent years and helping us improve access to care.

“Through our dental recovery plan, we’re helping the sector recover from the pandemic and making NHS dentistry a more attractive career choice.

“Today’s proposals will ensure dental graduates benefit from the broad experience and comprehensive training of working in the NHS, while also delivering value for money for the taxpayer.”

There is currently no requirement for dentists to work in the NHS following the completion of their training. In contrast, a graduate medic in the UK must undertake a minimum of one year of foundation training to register as a doctor, followed by an additional year of foundation training and at least 3 years of general practice specialty training to become a GP.

Jason Wong, Chief Dental Officer for England, said: “Dental services were severely impacted by the pandemic, and it is a priority for the NHS to improve access, so it is easier for people to see a dentist.

“We launched our dental recovery plan earlier this year to deliver millions more appointments across England – and boosting the workforce is one step we can take to achieve this.”

Neil Carmichael, Executive Chair of the Association of Dental Groups, said: “We welcome the chance to engage with this consultation and ensure the NHS benefits from the skills of our graduate dentists.

“We need to see more trained dentists entering the profession and we will work with the government to ensure these proposals reflect the sector’s mixed economy and considers the needs of both NHS and private dentistry.”

Louise Ansari, CEO at Healthwatch England, said: “We welcome the opportunity for the public to have their say about these long-term proposals to address dental workforce issues, especially as access to NHS appointments continues to be one of the main issues we hear about from people across the country.  

“We also look forward to seeing separate government proposals on reforming the NHS dental contract in the coming months, as set out in the dental recovery plan.

“In the meantime, NHS bodies that plan and fund dentistry across England should take concerted and imaginative action to ensure people in greatest need can get dental care quickly.”

The launch of the consultation is the latest milestone in the delivery of the Westminster government’s dental recovery plan.

Since the plan was published in February, the government and NHS have worked to:

  • introduce a new patient premium, supporting dentists to take on new patients – with more than 500 more practices saying they are now open to new patients compared to January
  • launch the ‘golden hello’ recruitment scheme to incentivise dentists to work in under-served areas
  • raise the minimum units of dental activity (UDA) rate to £28 this year, making NHS work more attractive and sustainable
  • open a consultation on proposals to make it easier for overseas dentists to work in the UK

Responding to the proposal that Dental graduates in England could be compelled to work in the NHS work or face repaying some training costs, Prof. Grant McIntyre, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, commented: “As most dental graduates already start their careers in the NHS and contribute to NHS patient care as an undergraduate student and during their early professional career, we are uncertain of what practical benefits this proposal will have.

“Most dental graduates have also accrued significant personal debts to complete their dental training, usually in excess of £100,000. Therefore, we believe this proposal is likely to make NHS dentistry even more unattractive for dentists to provide NHS dental care as their career develops.

“As per our election manifesto, we believe a more constructive approach is needed that focuses on creating a positive working environment to encourage sustained delivery of NHS practice. This means reforming the current dental contract, improving workforce planning and a renewed emphasis on preventative health and reducing health inequalities.

“We believe positive rather than punitive steps are required to lift morale, improve dental recruitment and retention, and improve access to services for the benefit of patients and the population.”

Holyrood Committee launches call for views on Scottish Government’s proposed ‘National Outcomes’

A call for views on the Scottish Government’s proposals for National Outcomes has been launched.

The Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Public Administration Committee will lead Holyrood’s committees in scrutinising the proposed new and revised measures under the National Performance Framework.

Views are being sought from across the public sector, from businesses, the voluntary sector and from communities.

The deadline for submitting views is 28 June 2024.


Finance and Public Administration Committee Convener Kenneth Gibson said: “The Scottish Government must, by law, review the National Outcomes for Scotland at least every five years.

“Earlier this month the government published its proposals for new and revised National Outcomes.

“Our committee will lead the Parliament’s scrutiny of the new proposals and, working with other Committees, consider whether the proposed National Outcomes are the right ones for Scotland, and whether the Government should make any other changes.

“Our Committee, along with others, will also examine whether the 13 proposed Outcomes will lead to better lives for the people of Scotland, as intended by the Scottish Government.”

Call for Views

The committee’s call for views asks nine questions about the proposed National Outcomes.

Views can be submitted here: National Performance Framework: Inquiry into proposed National Outcomes

National Performance Framework

The Scottish Government explains that the National Performance Framework is Scotland’s wellbeing framework.

The National Performance Framework aims to get everyone in Scotland to work together to deliver on the National Outcomes. This includes:

  • national and local government
  • public and private sectors
  • voluntary organisations
  • businesses and
  • communities.

What are National outcomes?

The Government explains that National Outcomes are part of the NPF and are the broad policy aims which, with the NPF, describe the kind of Scotland “in which we all want to live”.

The Scottish Parliament must be consulted on proposed National Outcomes and also considers the consultation the Government has carried out.

The Scottish Government’s Report on proposed National Outcomes and its consultation was published on 1 May 2024.

Committee Scrutiny

The Finance and Public Administration Committee is leading consideration of the proposed National Outcomes, although some other Committees will wish to consider evidence in their areas of interest. There is one consultation for all Committees which seeks views on the Government’s proposed National Outcomes.

What happens next?

Once the consultation has closed, the responses will be analysed, and that analysis will be sent to the relevant Committee to consider.

It will be for each Committee to consider what action they may wish to take, including whether to publish their views in a letter or a report to Parliament.

Ofcom: Proposed measures to improve children’s online safety

As the UK’s online safety regulator, we have published a package of proposed measures that social media and other online services must take to improve children’s safety when they’re online:

In this article, Ofcom explain some of the main measures and the difference we expect them to make. Whether you are a parent, carer or someone working with children, this can help you understand what is happening to help children in the UK live safer lives online.

Protecting children is a priority

Protecting children so they can enjoy the benefits of being online, without experiencing the potentially serious harms that exist in the online world, is a priority for Ofcom.

We’re taking action – setting out proposed steps online services would need to take to keep kids safer online, as part of their duties under the Online Safety Act.

Under the Act social media apps, search and other online services must prevent children from encountering the most harmful content relating to suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, and pornography. They must also minimise children’s exposure to other serious harms, including violent, hateful or abusive material, bullying content, and content promoting dangerous challenges.

What will companies have to do to protect children online?

Firstly, online services must establish whether children are likely to access their site – or part of it. And secondly, if children are likely to access it, the company must carry out a further assessment to identify the risks their service poses to children, including the risk that come from the design of their services, their functionalities and algorithms. They then need to introduce various safety measures to mitigate these risks.



Our consultation proposes more than 40 safety measures that services would need to take – all aimed at making sure children enjoy safer screen time when they are online. These include:

  • Robust age checks – our draft Codes expect services to know which of their users are children in order to keep protect them from harmful content. In practice, this means that all services which don’t ban harmful content should introduce highly effective age-checks to prevent children from accessing the entire site or app, or age-restricting parts of it for adults-only access.
  • Safer algorithms – under our proposals, any service that has systems that recommend personalised content to users and is at a high risk of harmful content must design their algorithms to filter out the most harmful content from children’s feeds, and downrank other harmful content. Children must also be able to provide negative feedback so the algorithm can learn what content they don’t want to see.
  • Effective moderation – all services, like social media apps and search services, must have content moderation systems and processes to take quick action on harmful content and large search services should use a ‘safe search’ setting for children, which can’t be turned off and must filter out the most harmful content. Other broader measures require clear policies from services on what kind of content is allowed, how content is prioritised for review, and for content moderation teams to be well-resourced and trained.

What difference will these measures make?

We believe these measures will improve children’s online experiences in a number of ways. For example:

  • Children will not normally be able to access pornography.
  • Children will be protected from seeing, and being recommended, potentially harmful content.
  • Children will not be added to group chats without their consent.
  • It will be easier for children to complain when they see harmful content, and they can be more confident that their complaints will be acted on.

Our consultation follows proposals we’ve already published for how children should be protected from illegal content and activity such as grooming, child sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as how children should be prevented from accessing pornographic content.

Next steps

Our consultation is open until 17 July and we welcome any feedback on the proposals. We expect to finalise our proposals and publish our final statement and documents in spring next year.

Please submit responses using the consultation response form (ODT, 108.1 KB).

Waterfront: We want YOUR thoughts!

WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS!

SATURDAY 4th MAY 11am – 2pm

The future is exciting for Granton Waterfront, we want to share plans and capture ideas for your heritage buildings.

Please share your ideas at our:

Drop-in event THIS SATURDAY 4th May

Granton Station, Waterfront Broadway

11am – 2pm

Or ONLINE from the 1-29 May

https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/…/granton…

Protecting fans from ticket touts

Views sought on EURO 2028 legislation

Proposals which will help to protect people against the threat of ticket touts at UEFA EURO 2028 are the focus of a new consultation launched today.

Glasgow is one of 10 host cities for EURO 2028 and an expected three million tickets will go on sale for the whole tournament, allowing more fans than ever before access to a UEFA EURO tournament.

As part of the consultation, stakeholders are invited to share their insights about how effective the measures implemented during UEFA EURO 2020, which took place in 2021, were for both supporters and local businesses.

Europe Minister Kaukab Stewart said: “Glasgow has become one of the world’s top cities for staging major sporting events, and EURO 2028 will follow in the footsteps of the recent World Athletics Indoor Championships – these matches belong to everyone and it’s important we ensure tickets are accessible.

“This valuable consultation underlines our commitment to protecting Scottish people from the threat of ticket touts, ensuring fair and equitable access to EURO 2028 games in Scotland.

“I would encourage everybody with an interest in this eagerly awaited event to share their views and help to shape legislation ahead of EURO 2028 happening in Glasgow.”

The consultation period closes on 26 July and provides an opportunity for people to share their views to shape robust protection measures for those fans planning on attending the matches staged in Scotland.

Community Engagement Opportunity: Drylaw Park Drop-In Event

YOU are invited to our second follow up engagement session on Saturday 20th April at the Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre from 1:30-3:00pm. 

Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre – DNC – The place to be! (drylawnc.org.uk)

We are very pleased and grateful to the team at the Neighbourhood Centre as we will be joining their Future Family Fun Day taking place on the same day.  We will be there to share some of the draft designs and ideas for the park and we’d love to hear your feedback.

As a reminder, we have been working with the City of Edinburgh council to develop concept designs for enhancements across Drylaw Park. These include improvements to park connectivity, accessibility and safety, infrastructure to address surface water issues, nature enhancements and improvements to play provision.  

The concept designs take these themes into account and have considered a variety of previous feedback from the community and other key stakeholders.

The Drylaw Park forms part of the Climate Ready Craigleith project which sits under the cities overarching Climate Ready Edinburgh strategy and there is more information on the developing storymap here: 

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/6c5e4815a3f54ce5be4d6f99b0dff213

Lets hope for some April sunshine and look forward to seeing you on the 20th April!

Drylaw Park Project: Follow up Community event on Saturday 20 April

I am getting in touch to follow up with some information regarding the Drylaw Park project and to invite you to our second follow up engagement session on Saturday 20th April at the Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre from 1:30 – 3:00pm at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre – DNC – The place to be! (drylawnc.org.uk)

We are very pleased and grateful to the team at the Neighbourhood Centre as we will be joining their Future Family Fun Day taking place on the same day.  We will be there to share some of the draft designs and ideas for the park and we’d love to hear your feedback.

As a reminder, we have been working with the City of Edinburgh council to develop concept designs for enhancements across Drylaw Park. These include improvements to park connectivity, accessibility and safety, infrastructure to address surface water issues, nature enhancements and improvements to play provision.  

The concept designs take these themes into account and have considered a variety of previous feedback from the community and other key stakeholders.

The Drylaw Park forms part of the Climate Ready Craigleith project which sits under the cities overarching Climate Ready Edinburgh strategy and there is more information on the developing storymap here: 

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/6c5e4815a3f54ce5be4d6f99b0dff213

Lets hope for some April sunshine and look forward to seeing you on the 20th April!

Have your say on Dalry ‘town centre’ proposals

Proposals to make Dalry greener, healthier and more vibrant are now being presented for consultation.

Plans to make the town centre a more attractive place have been designed to make it easier to access local shops, schools and services with wider pavements and better cycling provision. Ideas include features to create better spaces to spend time, with trees and nature, planting, public art, and opportunities to rest.

Improving public transport is a key focus, with measures to reduce travel times through the area put forward alongside more space at bus stops and resurfaced roads. Better cycle connections and safer routes to local schools are also presented.

Dalry Living Well Locally is one of the first projects that implements the recently announced Our Future Streets approach to provide both a more integrated transport network, and a greener, more inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone in Edinburgh’s neighbourhoods and key travel corridors. 

It is part of a new 20-minute neighbourhood strategy to help local people meet most of their daily needs within a short walk, wheel or cycle from their home.

To make these changes possible, proposals include measures to reduce traffic driving through Dalry on the way to somewhere else, while retaining vehicle access for everyone. This would be achieved through a proposed filter for cycles, buses and taxis just south of the Haymarket junction, operating between 7am and 7pm.

All homes and businesses would still be accessible by car, but most traffic heading from or to the city centre would use alternative routes such as the West Approach Road instead of Dalry Road. The Council will also use this is an opportunity to review the weight restrictions on the West Approach Road.

If approved, the works would be undertaken alongside the Council’s scheduled road renewal programme to minimise disruption to everyone using the area. 

There are also proposals to introduce more one-way streets in the area including along Caledonian Road, Caledonian Place, Orwell Place and Orwell Terrace, and the streets around Murieston Park. 

Ideas for segregated cycle lanes connecting the town centre to local schools, Haymarket and the wider network, including the new Roseburn to Union Canal active travel scheme, are also being put forward. This includes a redesign of the junction between Gorgie and Dalry at Murieston Road to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. 
It is also proposed to improve and expand the pedestrian space to the front of Dalry Swim Centre, enhancing the setting of the B-listed building. Footways will be widened where possible. 

The proposals have been designed using the findings of a survey of local residents and businesses to understand the needs, opportunities, and any barriers that limit people making more active, greener travel choices in Gorgie Dalry.

The survey, conducted between November 2022 and January 2023, identified common issues amongst people who live, work in and visit the local area, including a need for:

  • Wider and better quality pavements, especially at busy bus stops and around local shops
  • More and safer pedestrian crossings, with shorter waiting times
  • Safer and more attractive routes to local schools
  • More pleasant, greener streets and public spaces with more places to stop and rest
  • A less car-dominated environment that retains easy access for people with mobility issues and deliveries to shops and local businesses
  • Safer cycle provision along Dalry Road and Gorgie Road, and secure cycle storage

Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “Like many of the town and local centres across our city, Dalry has plenty of shops, services and facilities that people need every day but it is divided a busy road with cramped public spaces.

“Residents have told us this makes it a difficult area to access and spend time, and we want to improve the way it works for people, allowing everyone to live, shop, work and move around more easily.

“The local area has one of the lowest rates of car ownership in the city, and we want to create more pleasant streets that are better connected with local services and public transport options.

“We are proposing some changes to the flow of through traffic to achieve this, so people who would usually travel along Dalry Road by car to reach destinations like the city centre will simply use other routes such as the West Approach Road instead. Everyone will still be able to drive into and out of the area to reach homes and support businesses.

“This will help walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport to become the natural first choice for most of the shortest journeys. It will help make Dalry more of a destination in its own right, rather than a place people drive through on the way to somewhere else. 

“We will be listening to the local community, and I will make sure all voices are heard. I am also keen to hear from local businesses in the area. I firmly believe high-performing local businesses are at the centre of places like Dalry, and these enterprises need support and a safe and high quality environment for their customers to thrive and grow.

“Residents across Edinburgh tell me they want to be able to access work, leisure and shops easily without having to use their car because they know it’s good for them and the environment. These plans for Dalry could meet that need locally, and become something other parts of our capital may want to follow.”

Sam Valentine, Senior Grant Advisor for Sustrans said: “Working closely with the local community, these early designs present a comprehensive and ambitious vision of a place where people are able to walk, wheel and cycle with ease.

“Safer routes to school and better connections with public transport will create a more inviting space for everyone and restore peace and enjoyment to an area sorely overburdened with car dominance from through traffic. We encourage everyone living and working in the Dalry area to engage closely with these exciting proposals and help make this project a success.

The consultation on the proposals is now open and will close on Wednesday 26 June.

In addition to the 2022-2023 public survey, the Council has organised workshops with local school pupils and engaged with a wide range of community groups.
A ‘Community Advisory Group’ (CAG), including local councillors and community organisations, was established in spring 2023. 

The project team has also joined local community council meetings, visited local businesses and issued leaflets to residents in the area to encourage them to share their views. 

The consultation is being promoted through measures including door-to-door leafletting, lamp post wraps and a local engagement event at The St Brides Centre on Thursday 11 April between 3 – 7pm. 

Following the consultation, any agreed changes to local traffic restrictions or redetermination of carriageway or footway will go through the required statutory processes.