Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2022 to Question 21271 on Long Covid, what progress her Department has made on investigating whether COVID can be classified as an occupational disease.

The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (“IIAC”) advises Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on matters related to occupational diseases which may qualify for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. IIAC has reviewed the evidence relating to the long-term consequences of COVID-19 infections and hopes to publish a report in the next few months focusing on those post-COVID complications arising from both COVID directly and/or treatment and for which there is sufficient evidence of loss of faculty and potential long-term disability.