Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will discuss with the British Medical Association the potential benefits of drinking milk to help prevent dementia.

Healthcare in Northern Ireland lies under the responsibility of the Northern Irish Executive.

Improving the treatment and care of people with dementia, reducing the incidence of dementia and improving dementia research, is a key priority for the Government. That is why in February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his Challenge on Dementia 2020 as a successor to the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2012-2015.

Information on milk and dementia was published on the NHS Choices website following media reports, and is available at the following address:

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2015/03March/Pages/Milk-and-dairy-good-for-the-brain-claim-unproven.aspx.

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had and continues to have discussions about dementia with a range of organisations including the British Medical Association.