Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the lines of accountability are within the NHS Test and Trace structure for the megalabs announced by his Department.

The NHS Test and Trace Senior Responsible Owner for the Leamington Spa laboratory is Head of Laboratories, Dame Anna Dominiczak, who reports to the Director of Testing Operations Mark Hewlett. Consideration is being given to the longer term structural placement of this laboratory in the context of the future of Test and Trace, National Institute for Health Protection and NHS England.

We have paused development work on the second laboratory in Scotland until we have further detailed projections on long-term testing demand.