Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with providers of managed quarantine hotels for travellers returning to the UK on ensuring adequate processing times for refund requests.

The Department of Health and Social Care’s Managed Quarantine Service (MQS) ended on 15 December 2021 when all countries were removed from the United Kingdom’s “red list”.

Corporate Travel Management (CTM) managed the booking system for MQS, taking payments from travellers and booking their rooms in MQS hotels across the UK.

Where a refund is due, the aim is to process this within 20 working days, though occasionally more information is required, which can cause delays. There are a very small number of refunds that are being processed, which we are aiming to action as quickly as possible. Customers are advised to contact UKHSA if they believe that they are still awaiting a refund so that this can be investigated.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) continues to hold regular discussions with CTM on a range of issues.