Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the dementia diagnosis target has been removed from the NHS Operational Planning Guidance.

We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rates (DDR) to the national ambition of 66.7%, with rates in England being 65.4% as of the end of February 2025. A timely diagnosis is vital to ensure people with dementia can access the treatment and support they need. Overall, the rate remains higher than previous years.

We have taken a new approach to National Health Service Planning Guidance this year, reducing the number of national directives from 32 to 18. These are the first steps on our journey for long-term reform of the NHS. NHS Planning Guidance is not an exhaustive list of everything the NHS does, and the absence of a target does not mean it is not an area of focus.

The Darzi Investigation found that there are too many targets set for the NHS, which made it hard for local systems to prioritise their actions or to be held properly accountable. Our aim is to give more power to local systems and let them decide how they use local funding to best meet the needs of their local population. This approach signals our ambition for reform, recognises the role of the NHS in driving economic growth, and enshrines our commitment to financial rigour in the system.