Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 26 February 2021 to Questions 155053 and Question 155054, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on (a) the prevalence of long covid and (b) progress of research into whether covid symptoms are permanent or temporary.
On 18 February 2021, the Government announced that the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research Innovation (UKRI) had been awarded £18.5 million in funding for four research projects to help understand and address the longer-term health effects of COVID-19 in non-hospitalised patients.
As research into the long-term health symptoms and impacts of COVID-19 is ongoing, we are collaborating across Government to monitor emerging evidence and consider our response.