Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of rapid covid-19 tests that have been shown to have returned accurate results in respect of (a) sensitivity and (b) specificity.

Lateral flow tests have undergone rigorous testing and evaluation including at Public Health England’s research laboratories. The latest figures show a sensitivity of 57.5% generally and 84.3% in people with high viral loads They are accurate, reliable and successfully identify those with COVID-19 without symptoms and could pass on the virus.