Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions of the potential impact of Long Covid on levels of (a) employment and (b) long-term sickness.

The Government understands the scale of the issue at hand, particularly the impact of long COVID on employment and the economy.

We are committed to ensuring that those with long COVID have timely access to a diagnosis and appropriate treatment and services, as well as workplace support.

Across the National Health Service in England, there are services supporting people with post-COVID syndrome, also known as long COVID. These services offer physical, cognitive, and psychological assessment, and, where appropriate, refer patients onto existing services for treatment and rehabilitation. People with long COVID symptoms should see their general practitioner, who will be able to refer them to services depending on their clinical needs.

The role of the health and care system in improving population health and in preventing health issues from becoming work issues is crucial to achieving the 80% employment rate and reducing the disability employment gap.

We have a range of initiatives that integrate health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, and WorkWell, as well as support through the Department for Work and Pensions from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants.

The NHS 10-Year Health Plan builds on existing work to better integrate health with employment support and incentivise greater cross-system collaboration, recognising that good work is good for health. The plan also states our intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment.