Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what financial support (1) the Department of Health and Social Care, and (2) other government departments, have provided towards research into Long Covid.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Health and Social Care funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology funds research through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Medical Research Council (MRC). Collectively, over £50 million has already been invested in long-COVID research projects to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, as well as to evaluate clinical care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they made the decision to set up specialist Long Covid clinics; how many have been established; and what estimate they have made of the number of (1) adults, and (2) children, who have been treated in that specialist setting.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

We recognised post COVID-19 syndrome as a valid medical condition in June 2020, when guidelines were issued to the National Health Service on the long-term healthcare needs of COVID-19 patients. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence created a clinical definition for the condition, publishing the ‘COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing the long-term effects of COVID-19’ in December 2020. A copy is attached. Post COVID-19 syndrome is a complex condition, affecting multiple systems within the body. Commonly reported symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive impairment and muscle pain. Further symptoms associated are set out in the guideline attached.

The establishment of specialist Post COVID-19 clinics was announced in October 2010. There are currently 101 specialist services for adults and 13 for children and younger people.

NHS England publish information on referrals of people aged 16 years old and older to post COVID-19 services in England. In the period 5 July 2021 to 7 May 2023, there have been 96,898 accepted referrals, 87,663 initial assessments and 263,166 follow up appointments.

No recent estimate has been made of the number of people who have contracted or have lasting disabilities as a result of contracting Post COVID-19 syndrome.

The latest estimate from the Office of National Statistics is that for the four week period ending 5 March 2023 1.9 million people, 2.9% of the population, in private households in the United Kingdom reported experiencing post COVID-19 symptoms.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they recognised Long Covid as a valid medical condition; and what (1) physical, and (2) psychological, symptoms comprise its characteristics.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

We recognised post COVID-19 syndrome as a valid medical condition in June 2020, when guidelines were issued to the National Health Service on the long-term healthcare needs of COVID-19 patients. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence created a clinical definition for the condition, publishing the ‘COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing the long-term effects of COVID-19’ in December 2020. A copy is attached. Post COVID-19 syndrome is a complex condition, affecting multiple systems within the body. Commonly reported symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive impairment and muscle pain. Further symptoms associated are set out in the guideline attached.

The establishment of specialist Post COVID-19 clinics was announced in October 2010. There are currently 101 specialist services for adults and 13 for children and younger people.

NHS England publish information on referrals of people aged 16 years old and older to post COVID-19 services in England. In the period 5 July 2021 to 7 May 2023, there have been 96,898 accepted referrals, 87,663 initial assessments and 263,166 follow up appointments.

No recent estimate has been made of the number of people who have contracted or have lasting disabilities as a result of contracting Post COVID-19 syndrome.

The latest estimate from the Office of National Statistics is that for the four week period ending 5 March 2023 1.9 million people, 2.9% of the population, in private households in the United Kingdom reported experiencing post COVID-19 symptoms.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of (1) adults, and (2) children, who have contracted Long Covid.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

We recognised post COVID-19 syndrome as a valid medical condition in June 2020, when guidelines were issued to the National Health Service on the long-term healthcare needs of COVID-19 patients. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence created a clinical definition for the condition, publishing the ‘COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing the long-term effects of COVID-19’ in December 2020. A copy is attached. Post COVID-19 syndrome is a complex condition, affecting multiple systems within the body. Commonly reported symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive impairment and muscle pain. Further symptoms associated are set out in the guideline attached.

The establishment of specialist Post COVID-19 clinics was announced in October 2010. There are currently 101 specialist services for adults and 13 for children and younger people.

NHS England publish information on referrals of people aged 16 years old and older to post COVID-19 services in England. In the period 5 July 2021 to 7 May 2023, there have been 96,898 accepted referrals, 87,663 initial assessments and 263,166 follow up appointments.

No recent estimate has been made of the number of people who have contracted or have lasting disabilities as a result of contracting Post COVID-19 syndrome.

The latest estimate from the Office of National Statistics is that for the four week period ending 5 March 2023 1.9 million people, 2.9% of the population, in private households in the United Kingdom reported experiencing post COVID-19 symptoms.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people with lasting disabilities as a result of contracting either (1) COVID-19, or (2) Long Covid.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

We recognised post COVID-19 syndrome as a valid medical condition in June 2020, when guidelines were issued to the National Health Service on the long-term healthcare needs of COVID-19 patients. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence created a clinical definition for the condition, publishing the ‘COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing the long-term effects of COVID-19’ in December 2020. A copy is attached. Post COVID-19 syndrome is a complex condition, affecting multiple systems within the body. Commonly reported symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive impairment and muscle pain. Further symptoms associated are set out in the guideline attached.

The establishment of specialist Post COVID-19 clinics was announced in October 2010. There are currently 101 specialist services for adults and 13 for children and younger people.

NHS England publish information on referrals of people aged 16 years old and older to post COVID-19 services in England. In the period 5 July 2021 to 7 May 2023, there have been 96,898 accepted referrals, 87,663 initial assessments and 263,166 follow up appointments.

No recent estimate has been made of the number of people who have contracted or have lasting disabilities as a result of contracting Post COVID-19 syndrome.

The latest estimate from the Office of National Statistics is that for the four week period ending 5 March 2023 1.9 million people, 2.9% of the population, in private households in the United Kingdom reported experiencing post COVID-19 symptoms.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the future impact of long Covid on economic productivity and workforce participation.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Across the NHS in England there are services supporting people with post-COVID syndrome (long COVID). These services offer physical, cognitive and psychological assessment, and, where appropriate, refer patients onto existing services for treatment and rehabilitation.

To support clinical leadership in this area, NHSE has worked in partnership with the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine to develop a new Clinical Post-COVID Society to facilitate the ongoing sharing of best practice to support people affected by long COVID. More information about the Society can be found at the following link: https://www.clinicalpcs.org.uk.

The UK Government has also invested over £57 million into long COVID research. The projects aim to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, and to evaluate clinical care.

Recent government-funded research from the National Institute for Health and Care Research estimated the economic impact on the UK at the time of the study (March 2023) as £5.7 billion from those with long COVID unable to work as before. More than half of respondents worked fewer hours or stopped working and on average had a 25% drop in earnings or nearly £11,000 each. The Department has made no assessment of the future impact of long Covid on economic productivity and workforce participation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost to the economy per year of people unable to work due to long Covid.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not have an estimate of the cost to the economy per year of people unable to work due to long Covid. Recent government-funded research from the National Institute for Health and Care Research estimated the economic impact on the UK at the time of the study (March 2023) as £5.7 billion from those with long COVID unable to work as before, based on the total duration of long COVID symptoms.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government by how much the (1) British Army, (2) Royal Navy, and (3) Royal Air Force are underrecruited.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the Noble Baroness to the response given by the Minister for the Armed Forces last November (Question 11998).

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many service personnel there are in the British Armed Forces, broken down by (1) service arm, and (2) gender.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The current strength (as at 1 January 2025) of the UK Armed Forces is 180,779 which includes:

• All UK Regular personnel and all Gurkha personnel (77.6 per cent of UK Service Personnel, (SP)).
• Volunteer Reserve personnel (17.7 per cent of UK SP).
• Other Personnel including the Serving Regular Reserve, Sponsored Reserve, Military Provost Guard Service, Locally Engaged Personnel and elements of the Full-Time Reserve Service (4.7 per cent of UK SP).

The strength of each of the Services, including Regular Forces, Volunteer Reserves and Other Personnel is:

• Royal Navy/Royal Marines - 37,601.
• Army (also including Gurkhas) -108,413.
• Royal Air Force is - 34,765.

The gender of Armed Forces personnel (as at 1 October 2024) is as follows:

• Male – 147,570.
• Female – 21,420

Gender figures are for Regular and Future Reserve 2030 Forces only; data regarding other categories of SP is not available.