SNP must live up to its promises over free dental care – Scotsman comment

The SNP’s election manifesto contained a number of promises to make more things “free”, at the point of use, rather than to the taxpayer.

The Scottish Government has announced that 600,000 people aged under 26 are to get free dental care. Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images

They included free bus travel for under-22s, free school meals for primary school pupils, a free internet connection and device for every child, free bikes for school-age children who cannot afford one, and free dental treatment for all.

Now the government has announced that 600,000 people aged under 26 are to get free dental care, in what is billed as a first step towards the ambition to abolish NHS dental charges entirely.

Given the poor state of the nation’s health, this was one of the better giveaways that voters effectively decided the country was able to afford, even if fiscal prudence was not given the prominence it deserved during the campaign.

The question now is whether the Scottish government will deliver on its promise or whether free dentistry will be plagued by similar problems as the pledge to increase the provision of free childcare.

Figures released in June showed that about 6,200 two-year-olds were using the entitlement of 1,140 funded hours of childcare out of an estimated 14,500 eligible to do so, a “terrible take-up rate” that the then Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said showed the SNP had “failed to deliver flexible childcare for those who could benefit from it most”.

Over-promising but under-delivering is a persistent criticism made of the SNP in government and Nicola Sturgeon should wary of allowing this reputation to grow further.

If the taxpayer is to fund such schemes, they should work efficiently and well; and election pledges need to live up to their billing, otherwise voters have been deceived.

That said, bridging the health gap between rich and poor, particularly among the nation’s youth, should be a priority for any government.

Bad health – dental or otherwise – is a major factor in inequality and one that blights the chances of living a happy and productive life for too many of Scotland’s poorest citizens.

There will be many young people who should now be able to get dental treatment that they would not otherwise have been able to afford. And, as anyone who has had problems with their teeth will attest, that will come as a huge relief.

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