Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 14 September 2018 to Question 171303, what progress her Department has made in its Ageing Society Mission.

The Aging Society Mission is a cross-government priority with the aim of delivering an additional five years of independent living by 2035. DHSC’s ‘Prevention is better that cure’ vision sets out the steps to deliver this mission. So far we have announced £98 million of investment through the Healthy Ageing Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to stimulate well-designed innovations that support people to enjoy active and independent lives for longer. We have announced plans to launch a ‘Home of 2030’ design and innovation competition later this year – which will seek to prototype the homes of the future that are built to a standard suitable for the changing needs across a lifetime. We have part-funded the new National Innovation Centre for Ageing in Newcastle, which is due to open later this year. In addition, we have announced over £130 million of investment to support healthcare innovation, including £69.5 million through UKRI’s Strategic Priorities Fund to unlock new treatments that allow people to lead healthier and longer lives. We have launched a joint UK–Japan competition to support British and Japanese businesses to harness AI and robotics to develop and showcase a new generation of assisted living products to help create safe, ethical and intelligent home environments.