I am writing to confirm that I have now completed my search for the information which you requested.
Request
I am interested in looking at whether funding for NHS dentistry has become more equitable as a result of the new band 2 bandings.
I would like to request please, the average price (to the NHS) of 1 Unit of Dental Activity in each Index of Multiple Deprivation Quintile in England between 2019/20 and 2024/25 financial years.
Where IMD quintile 1 is most deprived, 5 is least deprived.
If it is possible- please can you use the practice address postcode as the basis for the allocation to IMD quintile?
Otherwise, the postcode associated with the contract will be OK.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 3 September 2025.
We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
Our response
I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information and notes explaining it is attached.
This report contains the details from FP17s processed for the period stated 2019/2020 to 2024/2025 in English Contracts. Contracts filtered to where UDA Performance Target & Financial Value is greater than 1. The information within the report includes the data items and descriptions listed below.
Financial Year:
The financial year associated with the 'Year Month' dimension in the format 'YYYY/YYYY' e.g. 2018/2019 for 201804.
IMD Quintile:
The overall IMD quintile of the Lower layer Super Output Area (LSOA) in which the contract is located (the Principal Practice Postcode). LSOAs in England/Wales are categorised by IMD score into those that are the 20% most deprived etc. Please note this is based on all England/Wales. A quintile is a group that represents one fifth of the whole. The Indices of Deprivation can be used to rank the 32,482 LSOAs in England from most to least deprived. Splitting the LSOAs into five groups of equal size creates quintiles which contain 20% of the total number of areas.
Data Queries
Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.
Reusing the data and copyright
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: “NHSBSA Copyright 2025” 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.