Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of psilocybin on the (a) health and (b) ability to work of people with long term health conditions; and whether his Department is taking steps to support research into these areas.

No assessment has been made by the Department for Work and Pensions of the potential impact of psilocybin on the health, or ability to work, of disabled people and people with long-term health conditions.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health. This includes the potential impact of psilocybin on the health and ability to work of people with long-term health conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.