Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve (a) the diagnosis of dementia and (b) treatment for people with dementia.

This government has set the first ever national ambition on dementia diagnosis that two thirds of the estimated number of people with dementia should receive a diagnosis and appropriate post-diagnosis support by March 2015 so that they can access the right care at the right time.

We have put in place a new Dementia Directed Enhanced Service which has had over 80% take up by general practitioners to reward practices for facilitating timely diagnosis and support for people with dementia.

In October 2012, we made available £50 million capital funding for 2013-14 for the NHS and local authorities to work with providers to create better care environments to help people with dementia live well with the condition.

In the hospital setting, through the Dementia Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) reward (introduced from April 2012), with around 4,000 referrals a month, it is clear that more people with dementia in hospitals are being identified and assessed. Between April 2013 and June 2014 there have been 59,961 referrals as a result of the introduction of this CQUIN goal.