Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how yoga practitioners will be represented in the National Academy for Social Prescribing.

We are creating a National Academy for Social Prescribing, as part of the wider work on social prescribing, to ensure all general practitioners in England can refer patients to community activities and voluntary services including those covering sports and the arts. The aim of creating a National Academy is to build an evidence base and promote research into this important area, in order to help the National Health Service become a pioneer for social prescription.

Following a roundtable with a wide range of stakeholders held earlier this year, the Academy Management Board has been established to help shape the National Academy. The first meeting of the Board was held last month. A range of organisations are represented on the Board. This includes Sport England which represents, among a wide range of other sports, yoga through the British Wheel of Yoga.