Thank you for your request for information about the following:

[Q1] Please provide detail on all NHS dental contracts returned by contractors in Wales for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years, and, and 1 April 2023-date.

[Q2] For each contract, please provide data on its i) cash value, its ii) address, iii) health board, and iv) for 2022/23 onwards whether the contract participated into the contract reform programme.

[Q3] Please also indicate whether any practices that moved to the contact reform programme, reverted to the UDA contract prior to returning their NHS contract.

[Q4] Please provide totals on moneys clawed back from NHS dental contractors in Wales for failure to fulfil their NHS contractual targets, for each financial year 2015/16 to 2022/23.

[Q5] For each financial year indicate what proportion of practices were subject to this clawback.

[Q6] For 2022/23 please indicate what proportion of clawback came from contracts with the Welsh Government's contract reform programme for all or part of the financial year.

Your request was received on 18 September 2023 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Response

Questions 1 & 3

I am writing to advise you that following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by the NHS Business Services Authority. NHS BSA do not hold information on dental contracts returned by contractors, or contracts moving and reverting to and from different contract arrangements.

Welsh Local Health Boards will hold this so you may wish to redirect your request to the Local Health Boards.

Questions 2 & 4

A copy of the information is attached. Data refers to contracts based in Wales only. Financial Year refers to the period April to March.

Pilot refers to contracts listed by Health Boards or Shared Services as 'Pilot' on Compass at any point in the given year. This indicates whether the contract participated in the contract reform programme.

Contract Start Date, Contract End Date, and Principal Practice Address refer to the latest instances, as per Compass entries.

Performance Adjustments refer to adjustments made for underperformance (including overpayment) in 2015/2016 to 2022/2023, where the adjustments are made in financial years 2016/2017 to 2022/2023 only.

Performance Adjustments data refers to figures (i.e. payments taken) to date, i.e. the September 2023 schedule month. Underperformance adjustments for the years can continue to be made later.

Performance Adjustments Summary data refers only to contracts deemed as ‘active’ in the financial year the underperformance relates to. For example, 2015/2016 adjustments will refer to contracts open at any point between April 1st 2015 and March 31st 2016 – based on their start and end dates.

Performance Adjustments Summary data refers only to negative adjustments (i.e. clawback), and does not factor in any overpayments made. Overpayment data is included in separate columns.

Financial Values are based on Total Financial Value, as per Compass entries by Local Health Boards and/or Shared Services.

Blank values, and those of 1 and 0, are as is entered on Compass. A blank could mean the contract is closed, but could also mean nothing has been entered.

Questions 5 & 6

Performance Adjustments Summary

153 of 580 active contracts (26.4%) had payment adjustments for underperformance relating to 2015/2016.

106 of 567 active contracts (18.7%) had payment adjustments for underperformance relating to 2016/2017.

155 of 553 active contracts (28.0%) had payment adjustments for underperformance relating to 2017/2018.

133 of 558 active contracts (23.8%) had payment adjustments for underperformance relating to 2018/2019.

155 of 572 active contracts (27.0%) had payment adjustments for underperformance relating to 2019/2020.

7 of 587 active contracts (1.2%) had payment adjustments for underperformance relating to 2020/2021.

36 of 586 active contracts (6.1%) had payment adjustments for underperformance relating to 2021/2022.

9 of 554 active contracts (1.6%) had payment adjustments for underperformance relating to 2022/2023. 8.5% of the total value of the payment adjustments is in relation to contracts listed as pilot contracts during 2022/2023.

If you have any queries regarding the data provided, or if you plan on publishing, the data please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “Dental Services, NHSBSA Copyright 2023” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated.

Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.