Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 10 March (HL5426), which of the research studies relating to long Covid are still running; and how much they are planning to spend in this financial year to treat or cure the symptoms of long Covid.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have dedicated funding to research into treatment options, clinical trials, and to understanding the underlying mechanisms of long COVID. The overall Government investment in long COVID research is over £57 million. Government research funders welcome applications for funding for long COVID research.

Of the research studies identified in the answer for HL5426, four are ongoing and have expected spend in this financial year, namely: STIMULATE-ICP; PHOSP-COVID; Percutaneous Auricular Nerve Stimulation for Treating Post-COVID Fatigue; and Online cognitive training for people with cognitive impairment following SARS-CoV-2 infection. The total budget for these studies is over £15 million, but spend in this financial year is not yet confirmed, as it depends on the progress of the studies.

No specific assessment has been made of the progress of United Kingdom-based researchers on finding methods to treat the symptoms of long COVID. The UK has a strong track record of developing and evaluating new treatments for COVID-19 through randomised control trials. In November 2020, the NIHR and UKRI launched their first call for research proposals on long COVID and subsequently funded the treatments for long COVID. In 2021, the NIHR funded the STIMULATE-ICP study as the largest trial for long COVID treatments at the time. This study is still ongoing, and emerging findings will be shared with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The NIHR Innovation Observatory has undertaken a rapid horizon scan to identify repurposed medicines in clinical development for the treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, as well as related conditions such as long COVID and fibromyalgia. The horizon scan focused on medicines with a UK licence that are in phase two or three clinical trials, with trial registration dates from 2020 onwards.

Unfortunately, no study globally has identified a cure for long COVID. The REGAIN study became the first randomised trial to show a benefit from rehabilitation for people with long COVID, and the first high quality evidence confirming the sustained clinical benefit and lack of harm from rehabilitation programmes for long COVID. The NIHR provided £1.5 million towards this trial, which combined exercise with behavioural support, to measure their effects on symptoms, health, and other outcomes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of progress made by UK-based researchers on finding methods to treat the symptoms of long Covid and to cure patients suffering from long Covid.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have dedicated funding to research into treatment options, clinical trials, and to understanding the underlying mechanisms of long COVID. The overall Government investment in long COVID research is over £57 million. Government research funders welcome applications for funding for long COVID research.

Of the research studies identified in the answer for HL5426, four are ongoing and have expected spend in this financial year, namely: STIMULATE-ICP; PHOSP-COVID; Percutaneous Auricular Nerve Stimulation for Treating Post-COVID Fatigue; and Online cognitive training for people with cognitive impairment following SARS-CoV-2 infection. The total budget for these studies is over £15 million, but spend in this financial year is not yet confirmed, as it depends on the progress of the studies.

No specific assessment has been made of the progress of United Kingdom-based researchers on finding methods to treat the symptoms of long COVID. The UK has a strong track record of developing and evaluating new treatments for COVID-19 through randomised control trials. In November 2020, the NIHR and UKRI launched their first call for research proposals on long COVID and subsequently funded the treatments for long COVID. In 2021, the NIHR funded the STIMULATE-ICP study as the largest trial for long COVID treatments at the time. This study is still ongoing, and emerging findings will be shared with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The NIHR Innovation Observatory has undertaken a rapid horizon scan to identify repurposed medicines in clinical development for the treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, as well as related conditions such as long COVID and fibromyalgia. The horizon scan focused on medicines with a UK licence that are in phase two or three clinical trials, with trial registration dates from 2020 onwards.

Unfortunately, no study globally has identified a cure for long COVID. The REGAIN study became the first randomised trial to show a benefit from rehabilitation for people with long COVID, and the first high quality evidence confirming the sustained clinical benefit and lack of harm from rehabilitation programmes for long COVID. The NIHR provided £1.5 million towards this trial, which combined exercise with behavioural support, to measure their effects on symptoms, health, and other outcomes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 17 March (HL5423), what plans they have to treat or cure the estimated 1.8 million people suffering from long Covid in the period to March 2024 and those additional people who have contracted the disease since that date.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has invested £314 million since the start of the pandemic to provide care and support for people with long COVID. This includes establishing specialist clinics throughout England to assess adults, children, and young people who are experiencing long-term effects due to COVID-19 infection. A further £86.7 million of funding was included in integrated care board core allocations for 2024/25, and specific regional funding was also allocated for assurance and system support.

To support clinical leadership in this area, NHS England 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 and to support people affected by long COVID. Further information on the Clinical Post-COVID Society is available on their website, in an online only format.

Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Medical Research Council, we have invested over £57 million on research into long COVID, with almost £40 million of this through two specific research calls on long COVID. The funded 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, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical care.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the social media content referred to social media platforms by the National Security Online Information Team for potential terms of service violations is removed by the platforms.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The content referred by DSIT's National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) to social media platforms serve as examples of narratives which are assessed as likely to violate terms of service and sit within NSOIT’s ministerially agreed national security and public safety remit. It is up to platforms to decide whether the referred content violates their policies and what action, if any, to take with those referred examples: government cannot compel platforms to remove legal content. The proportion of content removed from platforms depends on independent decisions made by platforms or users as to whether they wish to remove the content.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what topics the National Security Online Information Team is tasked to monitor.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The National Security Online Information Team’s (NSOIT) agreed remit is to analyse narratives and trends from publicly available information online relating to national security and public safety, where ministers agree there is a high risk to UK audiences from mis and disinformation. This remit and the work of NSOIT is kept under review by ministers. NSOIT looks at threats posed by foreign states, risks to elections and risks arising from the use of AI and deepfakes.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many criminal cases have been designated as being aggravated by a terrorism connection under section 1 of the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 where the alleged offence was not one of those listed in Schedule 2 to the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government does not hold central data on how many criminal cases are designated as being aggravated by a terrorism connection.

When deciding what sentence to impose, the courts take into account the circumstances of the offence and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant guidelines from the independent Sentencing Council. This will include consideration of cases aggravated by a terrorism connection and whether an increase in the sentence length is required.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the benefits to HMRC and to affected taxpayers of requiring sole traders and landlords to quadruple the frequency and associated costs of their submissions to HMRC from annually to quarterly, starting in April 2026.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax quarterly updates are not the same as full tax returns. They are simple summaries of income and expenses. Software will automatically draw data from a taxpayer’s digital records, and, where these are up to date, the updates will be quick and easy to submit.

Quarterly updates will reduce errors by moving record-keeping closer to real time underpinning the £1.95bn of Additional Tax Revenue that MTD for Income Tax is expected to generate by 2029/30.

They also enable estimates of tax liability as well as nudges and prompts to support users to get their tax right. With records captured digitally in software, preparing the end-of-year return should be more straightforward, as the information needed is already available.

Long Covid APPG
Thursday 12th June 2025

Found: Time: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Location: Portcullis House (Hybrid) Chaired by: Lord Strasburger

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Baroness Northover Lord Berkeley Lord Rees of Ludlow Lord Borwick Viscount Stansgate Lord Drayson Lord Strasburger

Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Attendees ▪ Dame Margaret Hodge MP ▪ Sir Julian Lewis MP ▪ Sir Peter Bottomley MP ▪ Lord Strasburger

Theatre APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Parliamentarians in Attendance Giles Watling MP, Chair Lord Bob Kerslake Lady Bonham-Carter Lord Strasburger

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Lord Strasburger talked about the importance of sex and relationships education in schools, teaching