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Dementia Sufferers

My hon. Friend has made the point extremely well, and I expect that the Minister and hon. Members all agree that one of the main issues, and one on which we at times have our heads in the sand, is how to cope with our ageing population; how, as the hon. Member for Southport has suggested, to create a society that is not ageist in its approach; and how to look after those who will have to carry the burden of caring for those who cannot care for themselves. In conclusion, I should like the Minister to deal with the points raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby and Kenilworth, whom I again congratulate on obtaining the debate. However, I also want to ask him a question: who will care for carers, if we do not? There will be no one to save the Government £6 billion a year as those carers now do—it has been estimated that £1 of Government money spent in the voluntary sector provides between £11 and £15 in services—and there will not be enough care home beds in which people with dementia can be looked after or enough residential home places. I hope that the dementia care strategy will address the problems not only of people with dementia, but of the people who care for them. I am sure that the Minister agrees that this is not a party political issue. He looked slightly nervously at me, as if I were going to attack the Government, but I do not want to do that. All that I want to do is make the lot of people with dementia, and those who care for them, better, and this debate is an important step towards securing that goal for the future.