Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his department is taking to increase funding into dementia research.

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.

The Government is investing in dementia research across all areas, from causes, diagnosis, and prevention to treatment, care, and support, including for carers. This includes significant flagship investments such as co-investment with the Medical Research Council into the UK Dementia Research Institute and funding via NIHR programmes and training, to attract and train the next generation of researchers. In 2024/25, Government funders spent £144 million on dementia research.

As well as funding research itself, the Department invests significantly in research expertise and capacity, specialist facilities, support services, and collaborations to support and deliver research in England, known as NIHR infrastructure. NIHR infrastructure underpins research, enabling the country’s leading experts to develop and deliver high-quality translational, clinical, and applied research, including research into dementia.

The £50 million NIHR Dementia Trials Network will deliver a coordinated network of early phase dementia trial sites, expanding the United Kingdom’s clinical trial capacity in dementia.

The NIHR continues to welcome high quality 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 the public and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.