Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Official Report 944KB pdf

Committee Announcement (COVID-19 Recovery Committee)

The next item of business is an announcement by the COVID-19 Recovery Committee on its inquiry into long Covid. I call the convener, Siobhian Brown, to make the announcement.

As convener of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee, I wish to highlight the committee’s inquiry into long Covid, which was launched last week.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics estimate that around 2.1 million people in the United Kingdom are experiencing self-reported long Covid, and in Scotland it is estimated that 187,000 people have self-reported long Covid, which is around 3.5 per cent of the population.

Our inquiry will focus on three issues; it will explore awareness and recognition of the condition, examine whether there is adequate therapy and rehabilitation services and consider what further research may be needed to better understand long Covid. We plan to speak directly to those impacted by long Covid over the coming weeks and take evidence on what additional steps the Scottish Government could take to support people who live with the condition.

I am sure that I am not the only member with a mailbox full of inquiries relating to long Covid. I encourage members to share details of the inquiry with interested constituents, whose input would be greatly valued.

Our call for views will run to 10 February. We will then take evidence during February and March. We also aim to hold a parliamentary debate in the chamber on our findings prior to the summer recess.