Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 7 September (HL5229), whether at any point since 31 January a COVID-19 test comprising of a swab of the back of the throat and the nose (1) taken at the same time, (2) at the same testing venue, and (3) from the same person, was counted as (a) one test, or (b) two tests.

The 'people tested' measure for United Kingdom statistics was initially used to avoid counting one person tested several times in a short space of time. Many people are now retested multiple times for valid reasons, such as regular testing of health and care workers over several months. This means that the 'tests processed figure', which we have published from 4 July, is a better headline to measure the scale of the testing service.

Our priority is to make sure that we are sharing data in the most clear and transparent way. We are working closely with the country’s statisticians including the UK Statistics Authority and the Office of National Statistics to make sure that we provide the most relevant data that helps the public understand how the service is operating.