Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, further to his Written Ministerial Statement of 17 December 2020, when (a) schools, (b) colleges, (c) Directors of Public Health and (d) Directors of Children’s Services will receive guidance on operational planning for the roll-out of covid-19 testing to schools and colleges from 4th January 2021.

The Department has provided schools and colleges with access to guidance and support for setting up the mass testing of staff, students and pupils. They can access the published guidance through the shared digital platform and request further advice using the DfE helpline. More information on the helpline is available at: https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe.