The new dental contract has been widely criticised

Cheshire and Mersey Strategic Health Authority (SHA) spent �50 per head in 2005/6, an increase of 70% from 1997/8.

Meanwhile, Hampshire and Isle of Wight SHA spent �30 per head, an increase of only 25% on the same period.

The data, from the Information Centre for Health and Social Care, refers to spending on NHS dental care before new dental contracts started in April 2006.

The contracts came in for heavy criticism, with figures published in February suggesting patients are not getting improved access to dentists as a result of their implementation.

More than 500,000 fewer patients have been seen over the last two years, compared with the two years before the contract was introduced.

Across England, spending per head on NHS dental services (paid for by the NHS and through patient charges collected at practices) increased from �27 per head of the population to �39 between 1997/8 and 2005/6.

The report showed that gross expenditure on dental care increased by 53% between 1997/8 and 2005/6 (from �1.293bn to �1.977bn).