Policy Announcement, Monday 06 August

**Government **

• The government has set out a national strategy aimed at tackling dementia. Currently, there are around 600,000 people with dementia in England,  costing the economy over £14bn per year, and the amount of sufferers is set to double over the next 30 years. And despite costing the NHS and social care services £3.3bn per year, ministers acknowledged that improvements must be made in raising awareness and reducing the stigma of dementia, ensuring earlier diagnosis and improving the quality of services. The government-commissioned strategy, to be unveiled on Monday, will see experts from across the field come together to build a framework for GPs and hospitals to improve standards.

Conservatives

• The shadow chief secretary to the Treasury has said the Conservatives would stop Gordon Brown's 'backsliding' on Tony Blair's public service reforms. In an interview with Monday's Financial Times newspaper, Philip Hammond promised that the Tories would follow through with the former prime minister's plans to encourage the involvement of the private sector in welfare reform and the NHS. The comments came as the FT claimed that Brown had watered down plans to award 20 to 25 welfare-to-work contracts to firms, as proposed in an independent review for the government by banker David Freud.

Lib Dems

• British soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan should be able to receive postage-free parcels from their families, say campaigners. Many army families have signed a petition asking the government to pick up the bill for sending post to troops based overseas. The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Menzies Campbell has also called for the current policy to be changed. But the government says troops opted for free phone calls instead.