Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government why they removed the dementia diagnosis rate target from the NHS operational planning guidance for 2025-26.

The Darzi investigation found that there were too many targets set for the National Health Service which made it hard for local systems to prioritise their actions or to be held properly to account. 2025/26 planning guidance reduced the number of national targets from 32 the year before down to 18. This was an important step in moving decision making closer to local leaders, letting them decide how to use local funding to best meet the needs of their local population.

NHS planning guidance is not an exhaustive list of everything the NHS does, and the absence of a target does not necessarily mean it isn’t an area of focus. We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%. The estimated Dementia Diagnosis Rate for patients aged 65 years old and over at the end of October 2025 was 66.5%. The rate is an increase of 0.2% compared to 66.3% in September 2025. This is an overall increase from March 2020 due to sustained recovery efforts.

We will deliver the first ever Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework to bring about rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, which is expected in 2026.

The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia, set national standards for dementia care, and will redirect NHS priorities to provide the best possible care and support.