Britain’s aged population will inevitably mean that more people will be living with dementia in future.

According to statistics from the Alzheimer’s Society, there will be more than a million people with dementia by 2021. Currently, there are 800,000 people with dementia in the UK – among those 17,000 are younger people.

There is more awareness of the condition today and there are many positive initiatives in place to support sufferers and their carers.

Bradford is at the forefront of promoting those positive initiatives, many of which are in place here. For example, last year the Bradford Dementia Group, University of Bradford, received £2.4m funding from the National Institute for Health Research Technology Assessment programme to conduct a four-year national study focusing on how the quality of care for people with dementia in care homes can be improved.

The district is also instrumental in creating ‘dementia-friendly communities’ where businesses and organisations sign up to support sufferers and their carers by making their workplaces dementia friendly to make life as normal as possible for them when they are out and about.

Now Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has revealed the Government is committed to extending the National Dementia Strategy beyond its April deadline – and has announced a number of ambitions, including faster diagnosis more funding for research and greater help from businesses to support sufferers.

NHS England will invest £90m in a bid to diagnose two-thirds of people with dementia by March next year and leading businesses such as Marks & Spencer, Argos, Homebase, Lloyds Bank and Lloyds Pharmacy have signed up to support the cause and become ‘dementia friends.’ Staff will be trained to learn how to spot the signs of dementia and offer support for sufferers.

“Dementia can be a horrific and heartbreaking disease, but it is my mission as Health Secretary to make this country the best place in the world to get a dementia diagnosis, as well as a global leader in the fight to find a cure,” says Mr Hunt.

Tony Oates, 72, from East Morton, was diagnosed with dementia two years ago. The retired civil engineer credits the medication he takes with helping his condition and welcomes the Government’s plans.

“I have come back to almost where I used to be,” says Tony, who is now helping others through the support group he is involved with.

“I think the Government’s plans are tremendous. There are so many people about to be diagnosed as having dementia, there has to be some benefits somewhere that can help them all and the numbers, as far as I can tell, are likely to double within the year so that underlines the point.”

Terry Allsopp’s wife Dorothy was diagnosed with dementia in 2010, and he is her carer.

“We attend the Memory Clubs and they are of real benefit to the carers and also to people with dementia,” he says. “We had a meeting yesterday and agree we get solace and laughter and we learn from each other. We realise when we meet up we are not alone in the task of caring for our other halves.”

Dr Elizabeth Milwain, a psychologist with a special interest in dementia who runs four support groups in St Peter’s Church, and the Kirkgate Centre, Shipley; Idle Baptist Church and Keighley Shared Church, says: “I think it is good news because it shows that the issue is starting to really be on the minds of people and it is an area where, historically, it has been very under-funded and brushed under the carpet and, as a consequence, had all the stigma issues to do with that.”

“Things have got a lot better in the last few years but it is still a big struggle.”

Michael White, operations manager for the Alzheimer’s Society, West Yorkshire, says: “We are really pleased that the Government has pledged a refreshed and updated National Dementia Strategy for England. Dementia is a major health challenge, costing more than cancer and heart disease combined.

“Every day we see great work being done in the Bradford area, which is leading the way in taking the National Dementia Strategy forward by encouraging Bradford to become dementia- friendly.

“We hope that the many organisations and individuals working together from all sections of the community will be heartened and encouraged by this message of support from the government, to improve quality of life for people affected by dementia.”