Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the quality of lateral flow tests.

All tests are robustly assessed through laboratory validation, as precursor to procurement. To improve the quality of lateral flow tests The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has recently introduced additional criteria that devices must meet to be accepted for validation. The criteria focus on improvements to the usability, sustainability and performance of lateral flow antigen tests, compared to devices currently available. In addition, the UKHSA works with suppliers to improve the sustainability and usability of lateral flow devices, such as reducing the amount of packaging.