Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the financial effect on dementia research charities of the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will increase funding for dementia research.

The Department is closely liaising with the Association of Medical Research Charities, as well as individual dementia charities, to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this sector and identify how best the Government and charities can work together to ensure that patients continue benefiting from charity funded research.

The Government remains strongly committed to supporting research to combat dementia. The Government’s Challenge on Dementia 2020 contained the commitment to spend £300 million on dementia research over the five years to March 2020. This commitment was delivered a year early with £341 million spent on dementia research over the four years to 31 March 2019.