Coalition deal: Victory for Community Care dementia campaign

Community Care’s Dementia Declaration campaign has claimed a victory after the government made prioritising dementia research funding one of its pledges in its full coalition agreement, published today.

During the election campaign we called for a full debate on dementia and for the new government to make it a financial priority.

The campaign was backed by the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour, many other parties, leading sector organisations, celebrities including Michael Parkinson and over 800 signatories to a petition.

“We welcome the fact that David Cameron and Nick Clegg have listened to so many Community Care readers, who signed our petition calling for dementia to be prioritised,” said Community Care’s magazine editor, Nick Golding.

The coalition pledged to prioritise dementia research within the health research and development budget. Both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives supported this measure in their manifestos.

The Alzheimer’s Research Trust’s chief executive, Rebecca Wood, said: “Dementia is the greatest medical challenge of our time, costing our economy £23 billion each year. Through this groundbreaking pledge, the new government has recognised the urgency of Britain’s dementia crisis.

“The UK plays host to the world’s finest dementia scientists – responsible for several breakthroughs in our race for a cure – but they have suffered from years of underfunding. By prioritising this crucial area of research, the government will offer hope to the 820,000 people in the UK who live with this devastating set of diseases, and the countless others who would otherwise suffer in the future”.

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