Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress she has made on increasing the number of tests carried out at community diagnostic centres.

• I am pleased to inform my Hon. Friend that CDCs have now delivered over 6 million additional tests since July 2021 thanks to the hard work of NHS staff.

• The number of tests provided by these centres has grown by an average of 13,000 (6%) each month over the last 12 months.

• 150 centres are currently operational, and the programme is on track to meet its target of 160 CDCs by March 2025, with many due to open ahead of schedule.