Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2024 to Question 901299 on Long Covid: Health Services, what strategies he recently discussed with stakeholders to stimulate further research into treatments for long covid.

On 17 October 2024, I co-chaired a roundtable of researchers and people with lived experience to discuss long COVID research. I highlighted the importance of research in supporting this community, as well as recognising the significant burden of disease. We also discussed next steps for long COVID research, including supporting implementation science and knowledge mobilisation to ensure results translate into policy and practice, supporting researchers and industry partners to deliver intervention studies for new and repurposed treatments, capitalising on synergies with research on other post-viral syndromes, and ensuring long COVID researchers are supported to apply for further funding.