---

Dementia Services

I am grateful to the Minister. The right hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) mentioned the Secretary of State's birthday and also said—the Minister will perhaps correct me if I have got this wrong—that they were in Wigan. I remember reading a book about Wigan by George Orwell—"The Road to Wigan Pier"—my abiding memory of which was the tripe shop, whose tripe was described by the proprietor as being the most beautiful tripe in the world. The author goes on to describe the number of flies that infested that tripe, so I was thinking to myself, "I do hope that the Secretary of State didn't have a meal of that quality in his hometown," although no doubt things have improved a lot. I would like to focus on dementia this afternoon and, in a spirit of co-operation with the other side in the House, say how much I agree with the Secretary of State that this was a most appropriate debate for my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley), the shadow Secretary of State, to have chosen.