Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many social prescribing link workers are working within local communities as of 27 November 2023.

As of September 2023, there were 3,599 full-time equivalent social prescribing link workers employed by primary care networks, working within local communities.

There are similar roles commissioned locally and delivered through local authorities and/or the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector. There is not a central measure in place for this workforce.

The Major Condition’s Strategy case for change and strategic framework, published in August, set out the need to ensure the health and care system can take a holistic approach to mental and physical health, supporting people to live well, maximising opportunities for recovery and rehabilitation where possible, and supporting people to manage their own health both through prevention and ongoing management. As part of this, it identified significant possibilities in developing our approach to social prescribing, and we will be exploring this further as part of the development of the final Major Conditions Strategy.