Thank you for contacting me about research into and treatment for dementia.
There are currently 900,000 people living with dementia in the UK and this is projected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040, so research is crucial to understanding the condition and improving outcomes for those affected.
The Government is committed to supporting research into dementia and has committed to double funding for dementia research, to £160 million per year by 2024/25.
In August 2022, the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission was launched along with £95 million of government funding. The Mission is part of the commitment to double dementia research funding and aims to speed up the development of new treatments.
In March 2024, the Government announced that the husband of the late Dame Barbara Windsor, Scott Mitchell, has been named People’s Champion for the national Dementia Mission. The appointment comes alongside £6 million in funding to boost clinical trials and innovation, including work in Northern Ireland on how AI can be used to support dementia diagnosis, and research in Scotland looking at how ‘biomarkers’ found in blood can help detect the disease early.
A new taskforce – made up of industry, the NHS, academia and families affected by dementia – will lead this work to allocate dementia funding. You can register your interest to take part through the Join Dementia Research website here: https://www.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk/
The National Institute for Health and Care Research has also launched a number of new initiatives to support dementia research, such as investing nearly £11 million to develop new digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia.
Finally, the Government has announced its intention to develop and publish a Major Conditions Strategy. The strategy will set out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care. Interventions set out in the strategy will aim to alleviate pressure on the health system, as well as support the Government’s objective to increase healthy life expectancy and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity. Dementia is one of the six major conditions included in the strategy.
Last year, the Government held a call for evidence for the Major Conditions Strategy. The Government is analysing evidence received and will respond in due course.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.