Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase research on the (a) prevention and (b) treatment of dementia.

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 prevention and treatment of dementia. The Department funds dementia research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The Department, via the NIHR, is taking several steps to increase research on the prevention and treatment of dementia, 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 into policy interventions intended to reduce or prevent dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions. Alongside the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission, which is backed by £95 million worth of funding, NIHR is investing in the Dementia Translational Research Collaboration which seeks to significantly expand the UK’s early phase clinical trial capabilities in dementia. This seeks to support the Dementia Mission’s aim to speed up the development of new treatments for dementia.