FOI 2026/1549

I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
1. How many posts has the Greater Manchester ICB recruited under the ‘Golden Hello’ Dental Incentive Scheme,
a) in total and
b) broken down by position in
i) 2024
ii) 2025 and
iii) 2026.

2. What is the total (£) that has been spent on recruiting to this scheme at the Greater Manchester ICB in
a) 2024
b) 2025 and
c) 2026.

1. a) In total there have been two Practices within Greater Manchester which have successfully recruited under the National Dental Recruitment Incentive Scheme. (Golden Hello)
b) Through the scheme, these practices recruited Dentists equivalent to combined 1.8 whole time equivalent capacity.
i) In 2024/25 1.8 WTE, across the 2 practices
ii) In 2025/26 0.8 WTE, in 1 practice.
iii) Contract year 2026/27 has not yet commenced.

2. For clarity the responsibility for recruitment to posts lies with the individual Dental Practice, therefore the recruitment costs are picked up by the Practices. Once the recruitment has been finalised and the new performer is confirmed to deliver on the Practice contract, the first-year funding is released to the Performer.

This is a national scheme and the terms of the Service Level Agreement are that each new Dentist recruited by the Practice agrees to the terms of commitment and payment over a 3 year period. The first year they will receive a payment of £10,000, with a payment of £5,000 in year 2, and a final payment of £5,000 in year 3. If they leave at any point then the payment is reclaimed on a pro-rata basis.

Given the above the total amount paid out over the period of the Scheme for the years in question are:
a) 2024/2025 financial year = £19,000
b) 2025/2026 financial year = £4,500
c) 2026/2027 financial year = 0