To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2008, Official Report, column 1348W, on dementia: drugs, what the reasons are for the time taken to publish the national dementia strategy. (232367)

The Department has had to take into account the views expressed at over 50 consultation events and in over 500 written responses received. The Department also need to take into account all the financial implications before the final strategy and implementation plan are published. A great deal of work is involved and this has taken longer than had been originally been anticipated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much Government funding was provided for medical research into dementia in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08; and what percentage of the health research budget this represented in each year. (232371)

National health service support for degenerative neurological disorder research and National Institute for Health Research investment in dementia research amounted in 2006-07 to £22.8 million. The Medical Research Council (MRC) spent £6.4 million on dementia research in the same year. This total expenditure of £29.2 million amounts to some 2.5 per cent. of the combined Departmental research and development and MRC budgets for the year.

A complete set of dementia research expenditure data for 2007-08 is not yet available.