Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the amount it has spent on home testing kits for covid-19 that were (a) not returned and (b) returned outside of the timeframe necessary for a test to be completed.

Testing is a key part of the United Kingdom’s response to COVID-19. 15,197,099 tests have either been processed or sent out. Information linked to the cost of tests is commercially sensitive and as such, we would not be able to release the information requested. Spending for the Department will be published in the Annual Report and Accounts, which is expected in summer 2021. We also publish other data in relation to COVID-19 testing on a daily basis. This can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public