PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(16 December 2024)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to create a cross-governmental strategy for the prevention of ill health that would include measures on tackling (a) health and (b) other lifestyle factors that affect a person's risk of developing dementia that are (i) within and (ii) not within people's control, such as air pollution.

Asked by:
Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat)

As part of the Government’s health mission, we will shift from sickness to prevention, to tackle ill health, prevent premature deaths, and build a fairer United Kingdom where everyone lives longer, healthier lives.

We have committed to developing a 10-year plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. We will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with dementia care needs, with input from the public, patients, and health staff as we develop the plan.

Since 2018, dementia risk reduction has been incorporated in the NHS Health Check to increase dementia awareness and motivate people to make positive changes to reduce their risks.

We recognise that air pollution is one of the risk factors for dementia. The National Institute for Health and Care Research is supporting research to explore the link between dementia and air pollution, including a project to address how air pollution mitigation measures impact on neurological endpoints.

Answered by:
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1 January 1970