More people with dementia should be given music or dance therapy in a bid to prevent them being "over-medicalised", the Health Secretary has said.

It follows research which found that giving people with dementia personal playlists resulted in a 60 per cent reduction in the need for mind-altering drugs.

Matt Hancock said that while guidance says local areas should consider music or dancing for people with dementia, such therapies have not been widely adopted across England.

He has previously called on GPs to prescribe “personal playlists” to reduce agitation in patients with dementia.

Speaking following a reception hosted by the Prince of Wales at Clarence House in support of "social prescription" therapies, Mr Hancock said doctors were “dishing out” too many pills, when other options should be offered.