Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the covid-19 testing of asymptomatic people to residents and staff in (a) extra care facilities, (b) retirement villages and (c) other housing-with-care facilities.

We have written to Directors of Public Health to ask them to help us determine which supported living and extra care settings in their areas should be able to access testing based on a risk-based criterion. Retirement villages and other housing-with-care facilities are not currently in scope to be tested. Our testing strategy is based on guidance from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and Public Health England.