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 research into dementia care.

The Government is strongly committed to supporting research into dementia. In 2019, we committed to double funding for dementia research to £160 million per year by 2024/25. This will span all areas of research, including dementia care to enable the best possible care and quality of life for people with dementia. The Department funds dementia research via the National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR).

The Department, via the NIHR, is taking steps to increase research on dementia care, such as commissioning a Dementia and Neurodegeneration Policy Research Unit (PRU) worth £6 million to further boost evidence for policymaking. The PRU’s remit will cover research seeking to further understanding around how to improve post-diagnostic care and support offered to people living with dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions, and their carers. The NIHR is investing £9 million to continue funding the Three Schools Dementia Programme which links public health, primary care and social care via our NIHR research schools, namely Schools for Social Care, Public Health and Primary Care Research. The Programme seeks to fund research to address key evidence gaps, including around how we can most effectively support and care for people living with dementia. For example, the Programme has supported several projects relating to dementia care such as the Pall-Dem care study which explores the integration of palliative care into dementia care to improve outcomes and experiences of people living with advanced dementia and their family caregivers.