The National Academy for Social Prescribing will be running this funding project in partnership with The Utley Foundation, which funds the Music for Dementia campaign and is donating £1 million to get the ball rolling. NASP aims to secure up to £10 million in funding in total ahead of the programme’s official launch, which is planned for later this year.

News of this project follows the launch of the recently published Power of Music report from UK Music and Music for Dementia, which outlined a blueprint calling on government, health, care, music, philanthropy and third sectors to invest in and capitalise on the power of music.

Sarah Metcalfe, Managing Director of The Utley Foundation, said: “The Power of Music report provides a blueprint for how we can make music an integral part of dementia care and calls on government, philanthropy and industry to combine forces to fund it. The Utley Foundation is delighted to announce this award of £1million to NASP, which we hope will kickstart further investment from others.”

Funding for the project will be sought from a range of sectors and the programme, which plans to work at hyperlocal level, aims to address some of the points highlighted in the Power of Music report.  James Sanderson, CEO of NASP said: “As the Power of Music report demonstrates, music can have a truly transformational effect on people living with dementia. With this fund, we hope to make the ‘Power of Music’ more widely available to everyone.”

For more information about this news, or to find out more about the National Academy for Social Prescribing, visit the NASP website.