Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the contribution of physiotherapy services to supporting people to (a) remain in or (b) return to work.

Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are one of the leading conditions reported by people who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness in the UK, as shown in statistics available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/the-employment-of-disabled-people-2025

Early detection and prevention can support people with MSK conditions getting into and remaining in work. Physiotherapy is a treatment that can ease pain and improve movement for people with MSK conditions.

To support people with MSK conditions, we are working to deliver the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. GIRFT teams are working with health system leaders to reduce community MSK waiting lists and transform community services, such as physiotherapy, to support people with MSK conditions to get into and remain in employment.