Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the covid-19 outbreak on rates of dementia diagnosis; what steps he plans to take through the upcoming Dementia Strategy to tackle any backlog in dementia diagnosis; and if he will make a statement.

The pandemic had a significant impact on access to memory assessment services and general practitioner referrals due to re-prioritisation of services and the guidance for older people to shield at home. As of April 2022, the dementia diagnosis rate had recovered to 61.8%.

We will set out plans for dementia in England for the next 10 years later this year, including a focus on dementia diagnosis.