Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated to dementia research by (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Research and (b) UK Research and Innovation in each of the last five years.

Government responsibility for delivering dementia research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, 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 (UKRI).

The table in the document attached shows the NIHR and UKRI’s spend data for dementia research across the five financial years from 2020/21 to 2024/25

Spend for dementia research is calculated retrospectively, with a time lag due to annual reporting cycles, therefore 2024/25 is the most recent year we have data for. The Department does not centrally hold data on dementia research funding from other public bodies, and 2024/25 data from UKRI is still being confirmed.

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including dementia. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on dementia to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.