Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if there is ring-fenced dedicated funding for Long Covid services and renewed, adequately funded research in to Long Covid.

Since April 2024, in line with the National Health Service operating framework and the establishment of integrated care systems, the commissioning of services to support patients with Long Covid has been the responsibility of integrated care boards. Where local Long Covid services are not available, people with Long Covid symptoms should see their general practitioner, who will be able to refer them to alternative existing services depending on their clinical needs and symptoms.

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is committed to funding high-quality research into the causes and treatments of Long Covid, and research funding is available. For example, two projects have recently received funding to investigate the feasibility of a new clinical trial that tests multiple interventions for the treatment of post-acute infection syndromes, including Long Covid.

The Department’s approach is to ensure research funding is allocated based on scientific excellence and competitive peer review rather than pre-determined allocations. This ensures that resources are directed to the most promising proposals across all health conditions, including Long Covid, and maintains fairness and transparency in the system. Ring-fencing could inadvertently limit innovation by excluding high-quality research that falls outside a fixed remit.