Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has conducted on the ability of people awaiting joint replacement surgery to participate in exercise.

The Department recently announced a record £816 million of funding for ground-breaking health research. The Department welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including joint replacement surgery. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Successful applications in the past related to joint replacement have included: "Occupational advice initiated prior to planned surgery for lower limb joint replacement" (£567,975.72), and "An investigation of knee joint functioning in people with and without knee osteoarthritis" (£2,270,873).