Slough MP Tan Dhesi writes to Observer readers:

As I discovered while serving as a trustee of the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Support Services charity, dementia can be a distressing condition for both people with dementia and those close to them.

The long term aim is a cure, but while working to find that, we must put equal emphasis on the care provided to people with dementia and the support provided to their families and carers.

The Alzheimer’s Society has noted that in the UK today, two-thirds of people using homecare and 70 per cent of people in care homes live with some form of dementia.

Improving the quality of social care is a vital part of providing dignity in older age and independence.

I’m deeply concerned that our social care sector is in crisis, with severe consequences for the quality of care, public finances, personal assets, and pressures on unpaid carers of family and friends.

Indeed, the Local Government Association has warned that social care faces a funding shortfall of £3.6 billion by 2025 and Age UK has found that 1.4 million people have unmet care needs.

It’s deeply concerning that this Tory Government is putting vulnerable elderly and disabled people at risk by failing to properly fund adult social care.

We’re still waiting for the government to publish its Green Paper on social care - something they promised in March 2017.

The system needs to be sustainable for the long-term. Ministers need to set out the reforms that social care needs.

I’m pleased that Labour has set out its plan for a long-term and sustainable funding solution for social care, including building a National Care Service that supports older and disabled people when they need it.

As part of this commitment, £2.8 billion would be allocated to provide 160,000 extra packages of support for people in their homes every year, including 50,000 packages for people with dementia.

Many constituents raise issues with me regarding the care of relatives living with Alzheimers.

I’ll continue to work with my Labour colleagues to press ministers to provide the much needed investment for social care and give people with dementia the support they need.