Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility criteria for the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit to keyworkers with long covid.

The department is advised by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC), an independent scientific body, on changes to the list of occupational diseases for which Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit can be paid.

Their report, ‘COVID-19 and Occupational Impacts’, was published in November 2022 and recommended prescription for health and social care workers with five serious pathological complications following COVID-19 infection. The department is currently carrying out a detailed assessment of the report’s recommendations. Once this work is complete, the department will provide a formal response.

IIAC considered that the evidence is not, at present, sufficient to recommend prescription for Long Covid. IIAC will continue to investigate the occupational implications of COVID-19, including any post-infection associations.