Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the review by François Trotten of the University of Lille and Harry Sokel of the Sorbonne Université Potential Causes and Consequences of Gastrointestinal Disorders during a SARS-CoV-2 Infection, published in Cell Report on 3 July.

Whilst there has not been a specific assessment of the review by François Trotten, we keep all evidence under review and note the work highlighted and the recommendation that more research is needed into gastrointestinal conditions in COVID-19 patients and welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health.

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is the largest public funder of health research in the United Kingdom and has been part of a rolling United Kingdom-wide call for proposals that could make a significant contribution to the understanding, prevention and/or management of the COVID-19 and to better understand and manage the health and social care consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic beyond the acute phase.

The NIHR has also published a number of highlight notices to seek research proposals on high-priority areas topics, including on COVID-19 and ethnicity, transmission, and seroprevalence.