Business Q&A: Andrew North, Alexanders Prestige

This is the latest in a regular series of Business Q&A features published weekly.     

This week, we spoke to Andrew North, director of Alexanders Prestige, the luxury car specialist based in Boroughbridge.

Tell us in fewer than 30 words what your firm does. 

We buy, sell and service all makes of prestige, luxury and supercars. We’re based in Boroughbridge and we’ve been looking after our national clients for 20 years.

What’s the most expensive car you’ve sold?

A very rare Porsche 911 for £650,000.

What does it require to be successful in business? 

You’ve got to love what you do. It’s important to employ the right people, who have the same beliefs and work ethic that you do. And one thing all businesses need to recognise: cash is king!

What drives you to do what you do every day? 

Probably my huge overheads!

I love what I do and I’m a car enthusiast. I’m always trying to find new ways to adapt to the marketplace, which is ever-changing, both from an economic and a digital point of view.

You’ve got to be constantly on it, and more than ever, that means digitally. Apart from repeat customers, the majority of our leads come via the internet. You wouldn’t believe the amount of £200,000 to £300,000 cars we send to customers around the UK who we’ve never met, and who haven’t even seen the car before. It’s all done online.

What has been the toughest issue your company has had to deal with over the last 12 months? 

Probably two things. First, post-covid the availability of stock has been limited. A lot of the cars we sell are used, but not very old, and because of the pandemic, not many cars were produced in 2021-22, so they can be quite hard to find.

Secondly, after covid there was a big surge in prices of cars, but that was followed in late 2023 by a big price crash. Some cars went down by £50-60,000 overnight. When you’re carrying about 100 cars in stock, that’s quite painful!

Which other local firms do you most admire and why? 

I think what Valeria Sykes achieved at Grantley Hall should be commended. She took a ruin and turned it into the best hotel in the UK, but using only Yorkshire firms. What Valeria’s done for Yorkshire is absolutely fantastic.

Photo of Andrew North, director of luxury car specialist Alexanders Prestige in Boroughbridge.

Alexanders Prestige turns over £70 million a year.

Who are the most inspiring local leaders? 

I’m not political at all, so I probably couldn’t give you one!

What could be done locally to boost business? 

Whether it’s classed as local or not, I don’t know, but more could be done for green energy. A business of our size would definitely go more green if there were more incentives, such as grants for solar energy and electric charging for cars.

Best and worst things about running a business from Boroughbridge? 

Yorkshire people are the best, in that they’re lovely and straight-talking and honest.

Then again, they’re probably the worst too – we all know how careful with their money Yorkshire people can be!

What are your business plans for the future? 

Our plan is to continue to organically grow our business. Our big focus now is on the digital and social media side. If we’re not at the forefront of that, we could be left behind. I think we are at the forefront now – or close to it – but we need to stay there.

What do you like to do in your time off? 

I like to spend it with my family, travelling, eating out, and watching my son go-karting.

Best place to eat and drink locally? 

We eat fairly regularly at Grantley Hall, and I also like the Abbey Inn at Byland. It has a very relaxed atmosphere, and Tommy Banks, the Michelin-starred chef, does the best ‘real’ food you can get. If you have a burger there, it’s the best you’ll ever have.

I also like Will & Vic’s on Cold Bath Road in Harrogate. It’s a great social place, and I like being in the hustle and bustle of town.

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Should Harrogate have a ‘magnificent’ water feature?Should Harrogate have a ‘magnificent’ water feature?

There have been numerous schemes devised over the years to improve Harrogate. Some come to fruition, such as the 19th-century plan to develop a wedge of land called the Crookisnab between the villages of High and Low Harrogate, which resulted in our town centre. Others are not so successful, like the 1970 traffic management plan that included a flyover passing close to the Majestic Hotel. 

But one that keeps cropping up time and again is the dream of creating a grand water feature somewhere in the town centre. 

In 1946, the town council spent £100 on erecting a fountain to emphasise the importance of water to Harrogate, but it was soon turned off to save power and eventually scrapped. 

A few years later, the council re-introduced a water feature as part of its reconstruction of Station Square, but that was eventually filled in.

Photo taken circa 1950 of Station Square, showing the water features that were later filled in.

Photo taken circa 1950 of Station Square, showing the water feature that was later filled in. Photo: Vik Lokie/Walker-Neesam Archive.

Then in 1992, when the area outside the Victoria Quarter remodelled, developer Speyhawk incorporated pools and fountains, but these too were later removed. 

Just over a decade ago, developer Lateral unveiled a scheme to pedestrianise Parliament Street and reroute through-traffic via a hairpin bend round the Pump Room. That scheme – which failed to find much support – also included water features at various places around town. 

Most recently, the original Harrogate Station Gateway plans envisaged water jets shooting vertically out of a plaza on Station Parade, but that part of the plan was also dropped. 

Photo taken around 1992 showing the fountains that were part of the original Victoria Shopping Centre design, but which were removed a few years later.

The fountains that were part of the original Victoria Shopping Centre design in 1992 were removed a few years later. Photo: Walker-Neesam Archive.

But why the recurring interest in something so apparently inessential? A nice-to-have, rather than a need-to-have? 

Well, it all comes down to identity. Look around most towns and cities and the reason for their location is usually fairly obvious. Some are on a defensible hill or a navigable inlet, and go to the heart of almost any large settlement and you’ll see a river running through it.

But spa towns are different. Towns like Harrogate have no castle, harbour or river, and their origin or purpose is not immediately obvious. A water feature, it has been argued, could remedy that, acting as a focus for Harrogate’s identity and embodying its Latin motto – arx celebris fontibus – a citadel famous for its springs.

The late Malcolm Neesam, Harrogate’s historian par excellence, clearly gave the matter a lot of thought. When asked by the Stray Ferret in 2021 how he would improve Harrogate, he included prominent fountains on his wish-list. 

He said: 

“The time is well overdue to provide Harrogate with some magnificent water features to celebrate its Spa past.” 

He described his vision: 

“Given unlimited funding, I would add something so spectacular as to make visitors arriving at the town’s centre gasp with wonderment.”

Of the gardens on Prospect Place, in front of the Yorkshire Hotel and Hotel du Vin, he said: 

“I would introduce at least four multi-bowled cascade fountains to advertise Harrogate as the original Spadacrene Anglica – the English spa fountain – which would be illuminated at night, and of such a design as to ensure the minimum side-effects from wind. Along the low row of boundary stones, which separate the gardens from the footpath, I would add a long ornamental railing, which would be attractive to the eye and useful in emphasising that pedestrians should remain on the path.”

The intention would be to announce to people coming into the town from the south: “This is a spa town. Water is why it exists”. 

At the last attempt, the general idea gained a fair amount of public support. In the second round of public consultation on Harrogate Station Gateway Public in 2021, comments mentioning the water feature element of the proposals were largely positive. A typical comment read: 

“There should be a public fountain like in European cities. Water features are great for well-being.” 

Another said: 

“These are fantastic and interactive. They have been very successful in places like Kings Cross, Manchester and Bradford. Please include this in the final scheme.” 

Photo of the fountains in City Park, Bradford.

The fountains in City Park, Bradford. Photo: Creative Commons/Phil Champion.

But some were less enthusiastic, for example: 

“Water features especially usually attract litter and anti-social behaviour (see Bradford and its lake, for example). Too many of schemes like this just produce what looks like clutter in reality, as opposed to pretty impressions.” 

Another gave it a firm “no”, adding: 

“It would be very difficult to prevent children getting wet and Harrogate is a windy town, so spray would blow all over.” 

Andrew Brown, interim chair of Harrogate Civic Society, is inclined to agree. Speaking to the Stray Ferret in a personal capacity, he said: 

“I was not a fan of that proposal. I quite like the idea of waterjets in public places, but Station Square was not the right location. It’s a relatively small space and fairly shadowed, even in the summer.” 

But he does like the broader idea. He said: 

“It would be very appropriate for Harrogate to have one or more water features, but it would very much depend on what form it would take. It could take many forms in different locations, and its form might also be influenced by its location.” 

Sites other than Station Square and Prospect Gardens could feasibly include the area around the Cenotaph, Montpellier Gardens, Crescent Gardens (in front of the old council offices) and the heart of the shopping district, where Cambridge Street opens up into Market Place. 

For Matthew Chapman, manager of Harrogate BID (business improvement district), the idea could provide a welcome – and Continental – boost to Harrogate’s social and cultural life. He said: 

“We’d be fully in support of such a proposal that celebrates the heritage and traditions of Harrogate. 

“If we look at some of the highest-performing European cities, they all have an excellent public realm offer. Cities like Rome, Krakow and Paris all have main squares where people can congregate, and where different partners – policing, the council, street cleansing – all work together towards a shared vision. Harrogate needs that too.” 

Cllr Sam Gibbs, who represents the Valley Gardens & Central Harrogate Division on North Yorkshire Council, is more measured in his enthusiasm for the notion, but ultimately open to suggestions. He said: 

“It’s not a terrible idea, but it would really depend on where it was, how much it would cost, and who would be responsible for it.

“I supported the original plans for the Station Gateway, and a key part of that was improvements like these to the public realm.

“I’m all for things that smarten up the town centre. If we can attract more footfall and encourage people to stay here, that can only be a good thing.”

He added:

“If it’s part of a wider conversation about how we encourage people into the town, as far as I’m concerned, nothing’s off the table.”

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Firefighters battle major house fire in Starbeck

Fire has caused widespread damage to a house and garage in Starbeck this morning.

The blaze is believed to have started in the garage of the property on Avenue Close, off High Street.

Crews from Harrogate, Knaresborough, Wetherby and Moortown, along with the aerial ladder platform from Harrogate, battled the fire.

Harrogate watch manager Nev Scott said crews were mobilised at 9.52am to what he described as a “significant fire”.

Mr Scott said:

“The fire has significantly affected one two-storey property, and there is smoke damage to a neighbouring property.

“The work of the crews has prevented the fire spreading to an adjacent property. Crews will continue to work through the day to dampen the fire and mitigate any further damage.”

He added the occupants had got out of the property by the time firefighters arrived at the scene, and no-one injured. An investigation into the cause us ongoing.

The burnt wreckage of the garage.

A statement by North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said:

“Fire crews were called at around 9:50 this morning to reports of a house fire on Avenue Close in Harrogate.

Crews have been working to fight the fire and stop it spreading to a second property.”

Firefighters at the scene of a house fire in Starbeck.

Paramedics and police were also at the scene.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement:

“Police are assisting North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service at the scene of a fire at a residential property on Avenue Close in Harrogate.

“The incident was reported at 10.17am.”

Photo of smoke billowing from a window in the fire-damaged roof of a house in Starbeck.

Smoke billows from the roof of the fire-damaged roof.

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Access is a ‘shambles’ at purpose-built Harrogate flats, says disabled resident

A brand-new block of flats that was described as “setting the standard” for assisted living facilities when it was opened this month is “an absolute shambles”, according to a resident who moved in last week. 

St Roberts Grove, which offers residential care and support to people with a range of disabilities, was described as “what the future of care looks like” by Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones when he cut the ribbon on the Claro Road facility in Harrogate this month. 

But new resident Nick Moxon, 35, has highlighted one of the building’s shortcomings by filming himself trying to get into the lift he needs to use to reach his first-floor flat.

As shown in the video, which Mr Moxon shared with the Stray Ferret, he has first to go through a door and turn immediately right, stopping on a very small landing at the top of a flight of stairs. Then, he has to reverse his wheelchair and press the button to call the lift, before edging forward again to allow the first door to close behind him. 

Once the lift has come and the door opened for him, he has to reverse through 90 degrees into the lift. But the passageway is so narrow that the manoeuvre requires a lot of shunting back and forth, and in the video clip he shared, the attempt is in vain because the lift door ‘times out’ and closes automatically, meaning that Mr Moxon has to start the process all over again. 

He said: 

“I can use the lift, but it usually takes me a few goes. We tenants were only allowed to see inside the building a week before we moved in, and when I saw the lift, I thought ‘why on earth have they done that?’” 

Mr Moxon, who previously praised the spaciousness of the flats themselves, said that the problems at St Roberts Grove aren’t just confined to the lift: 

“The flats are lovely, but the corridors and doorways you have to use to get to them are too narrow. In some places, two wheelchairs going in opposite directions can’t get past each other. Some people’s wheelchairs are too big to access all parts of the building, and some people can’t work the lift to see their friends because they have limited mobility in their hands.

“We were sold this idea of the building being completely accessible, allowing people to live independently, but it’s not – it’s an absolute shambles. It’s completely unacceptable for a 2024 building. The person who designed it just hasn’t put any thought into how wheelchairs can get about.” 

The £7.5 million St Roberts Grove development was built and is owned by Sheffield-based Highstone Housing Association, which specialises in supported living accommodation for vulnerable adults, in partnership with local authorities across Yorkshire. The new facility has 35 accessible flats and on-site support staff is run by Disability Action Yorkshire. 

Two of three planned blocks have been built, and the third, due to be built on the site of Disability Action Yorkshire’s current care home, is expected to be completed by spring 2026. 

Mr Moxon said: 

“Far from the promise of increased independence, the layout of the two current blocks of flats deeply undermines the overall objective of the project, which should ensure that disabled persons should be allowed to dream and aspire to achieve their potential, and not be hidden by archaic and outdated attitudes obviously held by the architect who was in charge of designing our new homes.”  

Mr Moxon has contacted Disability Action Yorkshire about the accessibility issues at St Roberts Grove and has presented a list of recommendations to Highstone Housing Association, which has said it will consider the matter carefully.

He added:

“I had a constructive meeting with Highstone and we’re trying to find an amicable solution. Watch this space.”

Andrew Jones MP and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson cut the ribbon at the opening.

The Stray Ferret asked Andrew Jones MP if he stood by his comment that St Roberts Grove was “what the future of care looks like”. He replied:

“The future of disability care is modern, flexible, aspirational accommodation which gives disabled people the chance to have their own tenancy, their own property and their own front door just the same as everybody else.”

He confirmed Mr Moxon had contacted him about the issue, but said the correspondence was confidential.

The Stray Ferret has contacted Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, for comment but not yet had a response.

Mr Jones added:

“I feel sure that Disability Action Yorkshire will want to work constructively with any tenant who raises concerns. I understand though that the chief executive is unable to comment until next week.”

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Business Q&A: Jack Schofield, Atlas Helicopters

This is the latest in a regular series of Business Q&A features published weekly.

This week we spoke to Jack Schofield, managing director of Atlas Helicopters in Harrogate.

Tell us in fewer than 30 words what your firm does. 

Atlas Helicopters provides private helicopter charter in the UK and near continent. We buy and sell aircraft and offer private management services for helicopter owners, so we can guide you through the buying process and then take care of your helicopter for you. We can also put your helicopter on our charter fleet to help you offset the running costs.

What does it require to be successful in business? 

You need determination and a great team of people around you to make sure everything runs well – that’s crucial.

Our business is definitely not nine-to-five, so we put a lot of time and effort into being available 24/7.

Having said all that, I’ve never really thought of myself as a businessman. I was a pilot and ended up running the business and spending more time in the office than in the air.

What drives you to do what you do every day? 

I enjoy getting involved with all aspects of the business. As a pilot, I like making sure customers get everything they need, and I also work with the operations team and spend time training pilots.

It can be hectic – we often have lots of people all wanting to fly on the same day, so it can be a logistical nightmare, but we work well together and that gives me a strong sense of satisfaction.

What has been the toughest issue your company has had to deal with over the last 12 months? 

All aircraft have to be fully serviced every 50 hours of flying time, and parts get replaced all the time. But recently, getting hold of spare parts for aircraft has been very tricky.

We’ve just had to spend a lot of time tracking down a spare part for a helicopter that would have grounded it, had we not been able to find one. The helicopter company, Leonardo in Italy, had said it would take a year to get the part to us – it’s hard to understand why – so we had to source one by other means, otherwise it would have caused chaos in the fleet.

Getting spare parts has definitely been a lot worse this year, possibly as a knock-on effect of the global microchip shortage.

Which other local firms do you most admire and why? 

We work closely with a company in Harrogate called MEC Chauffeurs. It’s a similar company to ours, but with cars rather then helicopters. If our customers need cars to get them to their final destination, we use them. It’s only been around for a year, but it’s a top service.

Who are the most inspiring local leaders? 

Sorry – I’ve got nothing on that one!

What could be done locally to boost business? 

It’s a good question, but I don’t have an answer to that either. There’s a lot of demand for helicopter charter, so business is good for us.

Best and worst things about running a business from Harrogate? 

We’ve got helicopters all around the country, so we could be based anywhere. We’re based in Harrogate because it’s where I live. I’ve lived here all my life and it’s a lovely place to live and work.

The worst thing is probably the cost of living here.

What are your business plans for the future? 

We started last year with three aircraft and now have seven, so we’re growing.

Demand is slowly increasing to be driven around in larger aircraft, so we’re looking to get one. At the moment, we tend to fly small, light two-seaters, but we’re now looking to add a bigger aircraft to the fleet that can seat nine or 10 people.

We’re always looking to get new aircraft on the books and grow our charter business.

What do you like to do in your time off? 

I don’t have a huge amount of spare days, but when I have the time I like to go to the gym. I try to go every day.

I come from a family of six siblings and we all live in Harrogate. We’re quite close, so when I have a day off I like to meet up with them for walks (we all have dogs), or maybe to watch the rugby at the weekends.

Best place to eat and drink locally? 

My favourite pub is Three’s A Crowd on West Park. It’s got a nice atmosphere and on sunny days it’s nice to sit in the big windows, or outside on the pavement when it’s really warm.

My favourite restaurant is Pranzo on Cold Bath Road. I love the pasta there – it’s so good!

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Planning application clue reveals Toys R Us plans for Harrogate

A new planning application suggests that Toys R Us is set to launch a concession in a part of WH Smith’s Harrogate store. 

The application, which was received by North Yorkshire Council on Wednesday, is for cosmetic modifications to the Victoria Shopping Centre store, including an “aluminium panel with upstand 5400 x 1300 x 40mm” – in other words, a large sign above the entrance doors. 

Images produced by Hull firm Greens the Signmakers accompany the application and show how the frontage would look, with a large Toys R Us sign above the main entrance of WH Smith.

Two photos, one showing WH Smith's Harrogate store as it currently is, and the other a designer's impression of how the new Toys R Us sign will look.

An illustration of how the shop frontage would change. Images: Greens the Signmakers.

Toys R Us was founded in New Jersey in 1948 and opened its first UK store in 1985. At its peak, the group had 105 stores in the UK, but it went into administration and closed them all in 2018. 

The revitalised brand, owned since 2021 by WHP Global, started trading solely online until last year, when it announced a new deal with WH Smith, which saw the launch of Toys R Us concessions in nine UK stores. The one at Monk’s Cross retail park in York is the only one north of the Midlands.

In its interim results announcement for the six months to the end of February 2024, released on Thursday, April 25, WH Smith said:

“As part of our approach to space management, we will be extending our partnership with Toys R Us in the second half. We have recently signed a new exclusive agreement to deliver a further 30 store-in-stores by the end of this financial year.”

The Stray Ferret has contacted Victoria Shopping Centre for further details. 

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Senior Labour politician in Harrogate to support mayoral campaign

Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, made a quick visit to Harrogate at the weekend to support the mayoral campaign of Labour candidate David Skaith. 

The Leeds West MP, who was formerly an economist at the Bank of England, met local party workers and joined Mr Skaith to canvass in the town centre. 

Mr Skaith, who now lives in Wheldrake near York, grew up in Harrogate and his family still live there. 

Also chair of the York High Street Forum, he has focused many of his pledges on helping people and businesses. He has promised to introduce a cost-of-living support fund to help those who are struggling financially, and launch a high-street fund to support businesses financially and strategically. 

He said: 

“We started the day with the dedicated and hard-working Harrogate & Knaresborough Labour Party. Showing Rachel Reeves around the town I grew up in and still have so much love for was a real pleasure. 

“I can’t wait to put in place my Mayor’s High Street Fund and the Labour plans for our high streets to really boost investment into towns right across our region.” 

Photo of Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and North Yorkshire mayoral candidate David Skaith campaigning with Labour Party workers in Harrogate.

Rachel Reeves MP and David Skaith with Labour Party workers in Harrogate.

Although Harrogate is not usually considered natural campaigning territory for Labour, the party has said it is the only one that can defeat the Conservatives across York and North Yorkshire as a whole.

The mayoral region includes Conservative-controlled North Yorkshire, where Labour has just 11 of the 90 county council seats, and Labour-controlled York, where the Conservatives have just three of the 47 city council seats. The region stretches from the outskirts of Darlington in the north to within five miles of Doncaster in the south, and from the east coast to within 10 miles of the west coast.

Voting in the mayoral election will take place across the region from 7am to 10pm on Thursday, May 2.

The candidates for mayor are:

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Town-centre residents launch petition to demand Station Gateway details

A resident of Harrogate town centre has launched a petition demanding to be informed about how work on the £12.1 million Station Gateway redevelopment will affect her and her neighbours. 

As we reported last week, Rachael Inchboard previously submitted a freedom of information (FOI) request to North Yorkshire Council to ask for the development plans to be made available urgently so that people could have their say. 

But although the council said the information would be published “as soon as it is practical to do so”, it revealed that would likely be in the summer, rather than the spring, as was previously stated. 

Now, Ms Inchboard hopes the petition, which she launched on behalf of Granville Road Residents’ Group, will help speed the process up. So far, it has been signed by 137 people; her target is at least 200 signatures. She told the Stray Ferret: 

“Residents like me who live in the town centre don’t know what’s going on. We’ve asked for the details but been refused. 

“We’d like to know specifically what the plans are so that we know whether or not we want to challenge them.” 

She fears the plan details could eventually be released so late that there will be no time to raise concerns or have them acted upon. She said: 

“A couple of years ago, just one local resident received a letter notifying her of one of the in-person consultations on the day it was happening, and the other residents found out about it from her. So we’re very aware that some of these consultations are very rushed. 

“There are a lot of issues that aren’t clear, and we don’t want that to happen again.” 

Granville Road Residents’ Group, which submitted an earlier petition in 2021 opposing the Gateway scheme, campaigns on behalf of people living on streets including Granville Road, Back Granville Road, Mount Parade, Back Cheltenham Mount and Strawberry Dale Avenue. 

Ms Inchboard said the issue was about more than just the Station Gateway – it was about accountability. She said: 

“People here are paying a lot of money in council tax, yet someone who’s just had a big pay-rise [Richard Flinton, chief executive of North Yorkshire Council] can’t even get back to us about what’s going to happen just feet away from our front doors. There’s no transparency, and that has to change.”

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Harrogate NHS dental patients offered places at clinic 10 miles away

A dental clinic in Boston Spa has announced it will take on NHS patients affected by the reduction in NHS service by Pannal Dental Clinic (PDC). 

As the Stray Ferret reported in November, PDC was forced to reduce its NHS contract after being hit with a demand for tens of thousands of pounds from the Integrated Care Board (ICB) that gave it its contract. 

Consequently, it is focusing on prioritising children, leaving its adult patients to choose between staying on with a private dental plan or finding a place on an alternative dentist’s NHS list.

Having recently read the Stray Ferret’s story, 210 Dental Clinic on Boston Spa’s High Street – more than 10 miles away – has said it is willing to take on PDC’s patients. 

William Hamer, practice manager at 210 Dental Clinic, said: 

“Harrogate had a lot of problems recently with practices closing their lists, and NHS patients finding it difficult to be seen.

“Fortunately, we recently had a fourth surgery installed. Our dentist can take care of the more complex procedures, such as dentures, crowns and bridge work, but our dental therapists are fully trained to do examinations, x-rays and even fillings.

“If PDC’s patients are looking to be seen on the NHS, we can offer them that.”

But Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrats’ parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said that people in Pannal “should not be forced to wait five months to be offered an NHS place 10 miles away”. He added:

“It is clear that our NHS dental system is completely broken and it is leading to unacceptable situations such as this.

“With NHS appointments scarce at best and in some places not existing at all, people are being forced to spend hundreds, if not thousands of pounds on private dental care with some even resorting to their own at-home DIY dentistry.”

He was referring to a YouGov survey from March 2023 which found that one in 10 (10%) people had attempted their own dental work. The poll also found that one in five people in the UK (22%) are currently not registered with a dentist, and of these, 37% said this was because they couldn’t find an NHS dentist.

The British Dental Association (BDA) has said that NHS dentistry is facing a “genuine crisis” of access. 

But Andrew Jones MP told the Stray Ferret:

“As I understand it, the delay in securing additional NHS places has been due to protracted negotiations with Pannal Dental Clinic who, according to the Integrated Care Board (ICB), are only reducing their NHS contract temporarily.  It took the clinic and the ICB some time to confirm that arrangement.

“In a letter to me the ICB have said: ‘This temporary reduction in activity has been implemented due to changes to their workforce meaning they are currently unable to meet the previous activity requirements’.

“I hope that the workforce issues at Pannal Dental Clinic, which the ICB tell me are the problem the clinic has identified to them, are resolved soon so that they can resume their full contract.

“It would appear that there is still funding released by Pannal to be reallocated and I have asked the ICB to do their utmost to keep that funding as local as is possible.”

Mr Jones supported the introduction of the government’s dental recovery plan, which was launched in February. Under the plan, dentists are to be offered a bonus to take on more NHS patients, which ministers say will create more than 2.5 million new appointments over the next year.

Dentists will also be offered ‘golden hello’ cash incentives to work in under-served areas, potentially allowing around 1 million new patients access to NHS dental treatment.

But Mr Gordon said:

“For years there have been hundreds of millions of pounds of underspend on NHS dentistry and the Liberal Democrats have back the BDA’s calls to reform the contracts to get this money spent on fixing people’s dental problems.

“Yet this Conservative Government has done next to nothing to tackle this crisis.

He added:

“It is high time that the NHS dental system was reformed and plans brought forward to end this mess, so no matter where you live you know you can get the NHS dental care you need in an emergency.”

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