I have been contacted by constituents about Dementia.
As the Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes South, I have included below my response:
As many will be aware, there are currently 900,000 people living with dementia in the UK and this is projected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040, so research is crucial to understanding the condition and improving outcomes for those affected. But I would like to reassure you the Government is committed to supporting research into dementia, that is why the Government has committed to double funding for dementia research, to £160 million per year by 2024/25.
In August 2022, the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission was launched along with £95 million of government funding. The mission is part of the commitment to double dementia research funding and aims to speed up the development of new treatments.
A new taskforce – made up of industry, the NHS, academia and families affected by dementia – will lead this work to allocate dementia funding. You can register your interest to take part through the Join Dementia Research website here: https://www.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk/
The National Institute for Health and Care Research has also launched a number of new initiatives to support dementia research, such as investing nearly £11 million to develop new digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia.
Finally, the Government has announced its intention to develop and publish a Major Conditions Strategy. The strategy will set out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care. Interventions set out in the strategy will aim to alleviate pressure on the health system, as well as support the Government’s objective to increase healthy life expectancy and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity. Dementia is one of the six major conditions included in the strategy. Following a call for evidence, the Government is analysing the evidence received and will respond in due course.
Thank you to those constituents who took the time to contact me about this issue.
