Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the availability of clinical trials for dementia patients.

Government responsibility for delivering dementia research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation.

DHSC is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with dementia, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.

DHSC funds research and research infrastructure through the NIHR which supports National Health Service patients, the public, and NHS organisations across England to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trials into dementia

As an example, DHSC, via the NIHR, is investing nearly £50 million into the Dementia Trials Network, a coordinated network of trial sites across the United Kingdom, which will offer people with dementia the opportunity to take part in early phase clinical trials irrespective of where they live. This is complemented by the £20 million Dementia Trials Accelerator, designed to position the United Kingdom as the destination of choice for late phase clinical trials in dementia and neurodegenerative diseases.

The NIHR also funds research infrastructure which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including research on dementia. For example, the aim of the University College London Hospitals’ Biomedical Research Centre’s dementia theme is to develop novel treatments through precision medicine.

In partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK, and Alzheimer Scotland, the NIHR also delivers Join Dementia Research, an online platform which enables the involvement of people with and without a dementia diagnosis, as well as carers, to take part in a range of important research, including studies evaluating potential treatments for dementia.

The NIHR also provides an online service called 'Be Part of Research', which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies, including those with dementia, and register their interest.

The Government’s Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme, with up to £150 million expected to be allocated to, or aligned with it, aims to speed up the development of new treatments for dementia and neurodegenerative conditions by accelerating innovations in biomarkers, clinical trials, and implementation.