Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to encourage NHS partner organisations including (a) businesses and (b) voluntary, community and social enterprises to participate in social prescribing programmes.

The Government is committed to encouraging a wide range of organisations to participate in social prescribing. To help grow and sustain social prescribing approaches and evolve and disseminate the evidence base, the Government established the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) in 2019. The organisation brokers relationships across health, local government, justice, arts and culture, sport and the outdoors, and other sectors, to increase the range and availability of community-based activities and support that people can be connected to. In December 2022 the Department announced £3.6 million of grant funding for NASP for two additional years.