Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support people with dementia in rural areas.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision of dementia care services. NHS England expects ICBs to commission services based on local population needs.

NHS England has commissioned the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Dementia Intelligence Network to investigate the underlying variation in dementia diagnosis rates. This includes the assessment of underlying population characteristics such as rurality and socio-economic deprivation. The aim of this work is to provide context for variation and enable targeted investigation and provision of support at a local level to enhance diagnosis rates.