Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department's corporate plan 2014-15, what steps he is taking to meet the priority of improving treatment and care of people with dementia.

On 26 March 2012, the Prime Minister launched his Challenge on Dementia. The Challenge sets the commitment to increase diagnosis rates, raise awareness and understanding and double funding for research for dementia by 2015.

On the 28 February 2014, the Secretary of State for Health announced his ambition for improving dementia care and support for people with dementia, their family and carers. This signalled the importance of a tailored plan of care as part of a package of high quality, personalised dementia care and support.

The Co-chairs of the three Champion Groups supporting delivery of the Prime Minister's Challenge on Dementia, have reported their progress to the Prime Minister on the second year of the Challenge. They have also set out their ambition for driving improvements in year three of the Challenge and beyond.

Since the launch of the Challenge, we have also made significant progress across all three strands of the challenge, but there is still work to be done.

As part of its Presidency of the G8, the United Kingdom led an all-out global fight back against dementia. It started with a summit in London on 11 December, bringing together health and science ministers from all the G8 countries, world-leading experts and researchers, leaders of the global pharmaceutical industries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to accelerate progress towards effective treatments and cures.

Since the Summit the Prime Minister has appointed Dr Dennis Gillings, CBE, Ph.D. as a World Dementia Envoy.

The Department has also established the Dementia Steering Group (international). It will provide leadership and engagement across national Government on the UK's contribution to delivery of the commitments within the 2013 G8 Dementia Summit Declaration and Communique.