Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that people who have paid for day two and day eight covid-19 tests upon returning to the UK but have not received them are not held up in quarantine; and whether those people will be compensated for unexplained delays in receiving (a) tests and (b) test results.

Arrivals from amber list countries must take a test on or before day two for variant surveillance and unless they receive a positive result from their day two test, on or after day eight, to improve the efficacy of quarantine. Those travelling from a ‘green list’ country only need to take a test on or before day two. Arrivals should follow quarantine guidelines until they receive negative day two and day eight test results.

The Department is working closely with private providers to ensure tests and results are delivered on time to support individuals to meet legal requirements and end their quarantine period on time. Private providers performance for day two and day eight testing is continually monitored including their ability to provide samples, analysis and report results on time. We take rapid action when providers deliver inadequate services. This includes providers receiving a five-day warning to demonstrate they have rectified their service and if they are unable to do so, they are removed from the appropriate GOV.UK list.

As individuals are contracting a private service the Department does not offer compensation. However, we advise any customers who have had, or are having, a customer service issue with a private test provider, to first report this back to the provider. If the issue cannot be resolved, the consumer should to contact their local trading standards office.

Consumers are able to complain directly with the Department about private providers and we monitor these complaints and address these directly with private providers.