Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
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
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.
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
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
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.
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
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
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.
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
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
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.
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
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
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.
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) number, and (2) percentage, of (a) children, and (b) adults, with cystic fibrosis in England saw a social worker at their latest annual review for each year since 2015.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The information requested is not collected centrally. However, from April 2023, local authorities will be mandated to collect data on adult social care patients and users. While this will not include information on diagnoses or medical conditions as standard, data will be collected on physical, sensory and social support; memory and cognition; and learning disability and mental health.
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) number, and (2) percentage, of (a) children, and (b) adults, with cystic fibrosis saw a clinical psychologist within the past 12 months, for each year since 2015.
Answered by Lord Kamall
This information is not held in the format requested. However, the following table shows quarterly data on the proportion of children with cystic fibrosis in England who saw a clinical psychologist within the 12 months prior to their latest annual review. Data is not held prior to 2019 and information on Quarter 4 in 2021/22 is not yet available.
| 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
Quarter 1 | 78.6% | 48.7% | 63.8% |
Quarter 2 | 57.3% | 37.3% | 44.2% |
Quarter 3 | 66.1% | 50.0% | 58.2% |
Quarter 4 | 58.6% | 55.8% | - |
Source: NHS England
The following table shows quarterly data on the proportion of adults with cystic fibrosis in England who saw a clinical psychologist within the 12 months prior to their latest annual review. Data is not held prior to 2019 and information on Quarter 4 in 2021/22 is not yet available.
| 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
Quarter 1 | 82.2% | 20.4% | 33.3% |
Quarter 2 | 72.6% | 66.8% | 25.4% |
Quarter 3 | 80.2% | 59.6% | 38.5% |
Quarter 4 | 65.3% | 54.6% | - |
Source: NHS England
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any changes in the (1) volume, and (2) patterns, of gambling activity resulting from the COVID-19 restrictions since March 2020.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
Public Health England (PHE)’s evidence review on gambling-related harms estimated the annual cost of harmful gambling to society to be between £841 million and £2.2 billion, or approximately £1.27 billion. Further research is needed to determine costs attributable directly to gambling-related harm rather than those associated with people who are problem or at-risk gamblers.
PHE also conducted a rapid review on the impact of COVID-19 on gambling behaviour and associated harms. The review found consistent evidence that overall gambling participation reduced during the initial COVID-19 lockdown period (March to June 2020), and limited evidence to show any new patterns of harms associated with gambling during COVID-19 restrictions.
The Gambling Commission’s official statistics for the year to March 2021 show that the overall participation in gambling declined over the wider period of COVID-19 lockdowns, largely due to the closure of land-based gambling venues for much of the past year. The proportion of respondents participating in any gambling in the past four weeks fell from 47% in the year to March 2020 to 40% in the year to March 2021. Online gambling participation increased to 24% (up 3 percentage points), whilst in person participation decreased 12 percentage points to 23%. However, the increase in online gambling was largely linked to National Lottery play; excluding National Lottery draws, overall participation online increased marginally from 16.5% to 16.9%.
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what impact assessments on the societal cost of problem gambling they have undertaken to inform their proposed white paper on gambling reform.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
Public Health England (PHE)’s evidence review on gambling-related harms estimated the annual cost of harmful gambling to society to be between £841 million and £2.2 billion, or approximately £1.27 billion. Further research is needed to determine costs attributable directly to gambling-related harm rather than those associated with people who are problem or at-risk gamblers.
PHE also conducted a rapid review on the impact of COVID-19 on gambling behaviour and associated harms. The review found consistent evidence that overall gambling participation reduced during the initial COVID-19 lockdown period (March to June 2020), and limited evidence to show any new patterns of harms associated with gambling during COVID-19 restrictions.
The Gambling Commission’s official statistics for the year to March 2021 show that the overall participation in gambling declined over the wider period of COVID-19 lockdowns, largely due to the closure of land-based gambling venues for much of the past year. The proportion of respondents participating in any gambling in the past four weeks fell from 47% in the year to March 2020 to 40% in the year to March 2021. Online gambling participation increased to 24% (up 3 percentage points), whilst in person participation decreased 12 percentage points to 23%. However, the increase in online gambling was largely linked to National Lottery play; excluding National Lottery draws, overall participation online increased marginally from 16.5% to 16.9%.
Asked by: Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they have spent on recruitment campaigns to the uniformed military services, broken down by service arm.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The recorded expenditure on advertising by the three Services, for the most recent full financial year, is as follows:
Financial Year | Royal Navy | Army | Royal Air Force |
2020-21 | £16,937,533 | £11,819,962 | £5,721,246 |