She discussed the impact of dementia on families, her own personal experience with her mother's diagnosis, and emphasised that research is critical for finding a cure. She pointed out that despite cross-party consensus on the need to increase funding, there has been no additional investment from the Government.

Ms Huq highlighted the importance of culturally and gender-appropriate research solutions for dementia care. She shared her personal experience with her mother's frontotemporal dementia, emphasising the need to support carers who often face significant challenges.

Mr Nicolson spoke about his own experience of losing his mother to dementia during the start of the pandemic. He described the tragic decline and isolation she experienced towards the end, highlighting the impact of loneliness on people with dementia.

Ms Laing expressed sympathy for Mr Nicolson's loss and acknowledged his mother's character before intervening to acknowledge Ms Abrahams' contributions and the importance of carers in society. She did not present a position but supported the debate's theme.

Mr Sunderland briefly contributed, paying tribute to the 'hidden army' of carers across the UK who save the Treasury over £100 billion through their unpaid work and emphasised the need for recognition and support for carers through increased allowance.

Mr Stewart paid tribute to those suffering from dementia and their carers, noting that many carers are family members who do not receive recognition or financial compensation. He urged colleagues to take the Alzheimer's Society's 'Dementia Friends' course.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth on securing and leading today’s important debate, and I have enjoyed all the contributions. The report rightly sets out the need for the Government to honour their commitment and bring forward the dementia moonshot funding as soon as possible. Dementia is one of the biggest health challenges facing us today; there are currently 900,000 people in the UK living with dementia, expected to grow to over 3,800 by 2030 in my city alone. The Centre for Dementia at the University of Nottingham focuses on improving lives through high-quality research. Since the pandemic began, we have seen what can be achieved when there is investment in research. It is worrying that the state of the UK’s dementia research sector is now at risk due to delayed funding. Researchers are facing a career bottleneck causing many to leave the field. The Government must ensure talented researchers do not have to move abroad or quit their work. I urge the Minister to set out what is being done in the upcoming strategy to address this issue and ensure that people with dementia can participate in research. Furthermore, we need to communicate more effectively about risk factors for dementia to encourage prevention among the public.

It is a pleasure to contribute to the debate on dementia research in the UK. Dementia affects around 944,000 people in the UK and was the leading cause of death in December 2021, accounting for 12.4% of all deaths compared to 5.4% attributed to COVID-19. Funding for dementia research is relatively low compared to cancer research despite these statistics. In Bexhill and Battle, there are 2,413 people living with dementia, representing 2.34% of the constituency population. The MP emphasises the importance of care for those living with dementia and highlights the need for more support and funding for dementia research. He mentions his involvement in local initiatives such as training his office team as 'dementia friends' and visiting a pioneering memory assessment service based in Bexhill, which supports patients across East Sussex. These services provide early diagnosis and continuous care through community-based approaches, reducing stigma and encouraging early intervention.

Dementia has a lasting impact on patients and their loved ones. In Scotland, about 90,000 people are currently living with dementia, rising to at least 120,000 in the next two decades. There is no effective treatment for dementia yet; funding for cancer research is much higher than that for dementia despite its prevalence. The NHS faces pressure with over one-quarter of hospital beds occupied by patients with dementia and more than half of them having a yearly hospital admission. Research shows those with chronic health problems in middle age are twice as likely to develop dementia. There needs to be additional funding and efforts towards research, including the Join Dementia Research resource which is currently piloting writing to all people diagnosed to invite them for research participation. Transforming diagnostic processes could accelerate breakthroughs and improve patient care.

Emphasised the importance of maintaining a will to live in dementia sufferers, noting that when this diminishes, it can lead to severe consequences. He shared his experience from military service where soldiers suffering from similar conditions often lose their desire for survival.

Discussed the perception issue of dementia not being considered a ‘sexy’ enough topic by some to attract significant funding, suggesting this may affect efforts to secure necessary research and support resources.

It is a pleasure to support the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth in this issue, which affects every corner of the United Kingdom. Strangford has many older retirees who are susceptible to dementia, with recent figures showing that just under a fifth of all dementia diagnoses in Northern Ireland involve residents in my constituency. Dementia not only affects individuals but entire families, impacting children, grandchildren, sisters, and brothers. The economic cost of caring for people with dementia is estimated to grow from £24 billion in 2014 to £47 billion by 2050. We need funding for cures and coping mechanisms, including research and development as committed in the 2019 Conservative manifesto. However, there has been a decrease in Government spending on dementia research since 2016. I support calls from Alzheimer’s Research UK to apply the approach taken with covid-19 vaccines to dementia, focusing on coordinated and ambitious action from government, industry, health services, and researchers.

Committed the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth for securing this debate and highlighted that dementia affects around 850,000 people in the UK. He emphasised the challenges faced by individuals diagnosed with dementia and their families during the pandemic. Bonnar mentioned the economic cost of caring for people with dementia growing from £24 billion to £47 billion by 2050. He praised the Scottish Government's response to dementia, noting a pledge of £1 million towards tackling dementia in Scotland and highlighting the importance of integrated health and social care policies. He also criticised the UK Government's failure to deliver on its promise to double funding for dementia research, stating that current funding is decreasing from £82.5 million in 2019 to £75.7 million in 2020.

I wholeheartedly thank my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams) for securing this vital debate, and for the work that she does as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on dementia. I also thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting the time for the debate... Dementia is the only condition out of the 10 conditions with the highest mortality rates for which there is no treatment to prevent, cure or slow its progression. Almost 1 million people are currently living with dementia. Every three minutes, someone develops the condition... Unless we find a prevention or cure for the disease that causes dementia, the number of people in the UK living with the condition is likely to reach 2 million by 2050—a shocking statistic... We need world-class research to achieve the best quality of life for people and families living with dementia. The Minister is perhaps one of the nicest people I have to face—other than you, Mr Deputy Speaker—and I know that he genuinely wants to do the right thing, which is good. He knows, however, as has been referred to on numerous occasions, that his Government’s 2019 election manifesto promised to pour £1.6 billion into dementia research over the next decade as part of the so-called dementia moonshot... My hon. Friend makes a crucial point. There has been a perfect storm. As we have heard, there is a growing list of people waiting to be diagnosed properly with dementia as a consequence of the covid pandemic, and, as she rightly says, the very research groups doing in-depth analysis and research into this disease are largely reliant on charitable sources of funding, which have almost completely dried up over the course of the pandemic. Absolutely. This is a crucial point and it is why the Government really must come good on their promises... I also hope the Minister will update the House and give us a timetable for the publication of the dementia strategy. Patients living with dementia, and their loved ones, cannot wait for the Government to get their act together. We need a plan and we need it to go much faster to develop treatments to change lives. The Government must deliver now on their 2019 dementia moonshot manifesto promise to double Government funding into dementia research.

My hon. Friend the Member for Gorton and Denton is absolutely right that this is a perfect storm, and it has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Medical research charities have seen their ability to fundraise reduced drastically.

I could not agree more. Funds to medical research charities, such as Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Alzheimer’s Society, have more or less halved—an awful impact.

The Minister thanked the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth for her work and dedication to dementia issues, acknowledged the importance of the debate, and promised continued support for dementia research and care despite pandemic challenges. He emphasised raising awareness, improving support for those affected by dementia, and increasing investment in dementia research.

The hon. Member for Denton and Reddish highlighted the need to deliver on manifesto pledges regarding dementia research funding and emphasised the importance of collaboration between the UK Government and devolved Administrations in addressing dementia.

The hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill acknowledged the impact of the pandemic on implementing dementia strategies but called for a commitment to deliver on election pledges regarding dementia research.

The hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle emphasised the need for increased funding in the upcoming spending review, stressing the importance of investment in dementia research as part of a broader commitment to health-related research.

Thanked contributors to the debate on dementia research, highlighted her constituency’s efforts in raising awareness and providing training. Emphasised the need for more funding from the Government as a commitment made during the 2019 general election was not fulfilled. Stressed that early diagnosis can improve quality of life and called upon the Minister to take this message back to the Treasury for an announcement in the spring statement.

Recalled a personal experience from his early days as an MP, involving a constituent whose husband had dementia. Acknowledged the cruel nature of the disease and expressed hope for continued research progress to protect future lives. The debate was then concluded.