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 ensure that companies listed on the Government’s website as a provider of covid-19 tests under the Government’s quarantine procedures are not acting in a fraudulent manner.

Those providers listed on GOV.UK have declared and evidenced compliance with the relevant minimum standards for their commercial provision of testing, including participating in the three-staged United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) process if they are providing sample collection and/or test analysis services. UKAS also take appropriate action where organisations fraudulently state they are UKAS accredited.

The Department is working closely with providers to ensure tests and results are delivered on time. Providers’ performance is continually monitored and the Department takes rapid action should providers deliver inadequate services. This includes a five-day warning to demonstrate they have rectified their service or they will be removed from GOV.UK.