Following last week’s general election and appointment of a Labour government, led by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the dental industry has been quick to respond.
DDU urges new government to reform healthcare regulation to boost morale
Responding to the general election result, Leo Briggs, deputy head of the Dental Defence Union (DDU) said:
“A new government always finds plenty of problems waiting for them on the desk. Sadly, it has become too familiar for us to see a healthcare workforce that is over stretched and under supported. This was reflected in research we carried out of our dental professional members which found that 96% want politicians to include plans to support the health and wellbeing of the dental workforce.
“We urge the new government to roll up its sleeves and deliver for dental professionals. That includes prioritising support for their health and wellbeing, making sure the way they are regulated is fair, proportionate and timely and ensuring every pound possible is spent on patient care, rather than supporting an outdated legal regime for clinical negligence claims.”
Practice Plan parent company, Wesleyan, call for simpler pension schemes
Iain Stevenson, Head of Dental at Wesleyan Financial Services, said: “While the new government means there may now be some changes to tax and savings policy in the pipeline, it’s likely that we will have to wait until September and the first Labour Budget to find out what they might be.
“The Labour manifesto includes pledges that Income Tax, VAT and National Insurance will be left unchanged. But it also contains a number of spending commitments that may require higher wealth-based taxes such as Capital Gains Tax or Inheritance Tax to deliver.
“While Labour dropped its plan to bring back the Lifetime Allowance during its election campaign, it still intends to review and potentially reform the pensions system. At this stage, it’s not clear what this could include, but we would suggest that any pension reform must go beyond just fiddling round the edges and instead focus on more root-and-branch changes that deliver real simplification.
“This could help drive greater engagement with retirement planning, as well as better, fairer outcomes for pension savers. What we don’t need is another review that adds more complexity at a time when dentists are already wrestling with recent changes to the NHS pension scheme.”
