Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) guidelines they have published, and (2) advice they have provided, about priority COVID-19 testing for care home staff.

Essential workers continue to be able to access testing as a priority through the online portal and have been able to since April 2020.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19): getting tested guidance, which is available in an online-only format, shows the list of key workers which includes social care staff and specifically says they are being prioritised for testing.

Essential workers and members of their households who display symptoms of COVID-19 should book tests by visiting the COVID-19 online test booking portal on GOV.UK. This is set out in the Coronavirus (COVID-19): getting tested guidance.

From 6 July, we rolled out weekly retesting of care home staff in care homes. The announcement was published on 3 July. We are continuing to prioritise care home testing, where we are issuing more than 120,000 tests a day to care homes across the country.