Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has taken recent steps to help increase the supply of free lateral flow tests to people who are at risk of becoming seriously ill if they contract covid-19.

This year, the National Health Service will offer free COVID-19 lateral flow tests and treatments to an additional 1.4 million people at the highest risk of severe illness, on top of the 3.9 million people already eligible for free COVID-19 lateral flow tests and treatments.

Those who are at highest risk of becoming seriously ill, who are eligible for COVID-19 treatments, can continue to access free COVID-19 lateral flow tests from their local pharmacy. This cohort of people are encouraged to test regularly, to gain timely access to treatments. A full list of those who are eligible, as well as information on how to access the tests, is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/covid-19/treatments-for-covid-19/