Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is for PCR covid-19 test results for children in childcare settings; and what steps his Department is taking to minimise those waiting times.

The data is not held in the format requested. Currently the only childcare setting in which polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing is routinely carried out is children’s secure homes. To minimise waiting times for all PCR testing, including in children’s homes, we have procured additional laboratory capacity and adopted a regional processing model to reduce travel times and increase efficiency.