Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of removing the capacity to register covid-19 lateral flow tests.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Free lateral flow device test results can be reported through GOV.UK. Surveillance capabilities will remain, including the COVID-19 Infection Survey population level survey, genomic sequencing and additional data. This will be supported by continuing the SIREN and Vivaldi studies.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of randomised covid-19 testing for international travellers arriving in the UK.
Answered by Edward Argar
The Government considered a number of potential border measures, including randomised COVID-19 testing of international arrivals. In considering any intervention, the Government’s objective is to pursue the least interventionist measure necessary to protect public health and minimise the impact on travel and on the taxpayer. To delay any future harmful variants of COVID-19 entering the United Kingdom, we are maintaining a range of contingency measures.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of the ending of free covid-19 testing on sickness related absences of staff in the public sector.
Answered by Maggie Throup
No specific assessment has been made. However, free testing has been retained for eligible individuals, including in the public sector. As of 1 June 2022, the Office for National Statistics’ infection survey estimated that the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has been declining since early April.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the capacity of private sector covid-19 testing.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) regularly engages with retailers to allow the private market for testing to flourish and ensure all tests sold on the market are of the required standard. The UKHSA does not collect information on market capacity.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the decision to end free access to lateral flow tests on the rates of covid-19 (a) infection, (b) severe illness and (c) death for people who are (i) at highest risk of developing severe covid-19 and (ii) clinically vulnerable to covid-19; and if the Government will reinstate the provision of free lateral flow covid-19 tests.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The most recent data indicates that rates of infection, hospitalisation and deaths in England have declined in the last month. We will continue to monitor prevalence and other factors to determine whether additional testing may be required.
For those who are immunosuppressed, testing to support effective COVID-19 treatments remains available. We will keep data on rates of infection, severe illness and death among all groups under review, including those whose immune systems mean they are at higher risk from COVID-19.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make It his policy to provide applicants to the Coronavirus Test Device Approvals (CTDA) service with weekly status updates on their applications.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Coronavirus Test Device Approval (CTDA) validation process has ensured that the highest quality COVID-19 tests are available on the United Kingdom market. As of 24 May 2022, 244 applications for review under CTDA regulations have been received, with 143 or 58% originating from manufacturers in the UK. The CTDA validation process applies equally to both foreign and domestic manufacturers.
While there are no plans to provide specific weekly updates, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) frequently communicates with applicants through its dedicated review and complaint channels. The UKHSA keeps the CTDA process under continuous review and will consider further improvements for applicants.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason foreign-manufactured PCR tests are not subject to the same Coronavirus Test Device Approvals (CTDA) process to which UK manufactured tests must comply.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Coronavirus Test Device Approval (CTDA) validation process has ensured that the highest quality COVID-19 tests are available on the United Kingdom market. As of 24 May 2022, 244 applications for review under CTDA regulations have been received, with 143 or 58% originating from manufacturers in the UK. The CTDA validation process applies equally to both foreign and domestic manufacturers.
While there are no plans to provide specific weekly updates, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) frequently communicates with applicants through its dedicated review and complaint channels. The UKHSA keeps the CTDA process under continuous review and will consider further improvements for applicants.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK Health Security Agency’s Coronavirus test device approval (CTDA) process for covid-19 diagnostics, in helping UK manufacturers to be world-leaders in clinical diagnostics delivery.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Coronavirus Test Device Approval (CTDA) validation process has ensured that the highest quality COVID-19 tests are available on the United Kingdom market. As of 24 May 2022, 244 applications for review under CTDA regulations have been received, with 143 or 58% originating from manufacturers in the UK. The CTDA validation process applies equally to both foreign and domestic manufacturers.
While there are no plans to provide specific weekly updates, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) frequently communicates with applicants through its dedicated review and complaint channels. The UKHSA keeps the CTDA process under continuous review and will consider further improvements for applicants.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing third sector contractors carrying out NHS contracts with free lateral flow covid-19 test kits.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Free symptomatic and asymptomatic testing is available in the health sector based on clinical risk factors. Those who regularly work with National Health Service patients are eligible for free lateral flow tests through the staff testing programme. This includes individuals not directly employed by a NHS organisation, such as volunteers in vaccination centres in patient-facing roles. The decision on whether a role is patient-facing is made locally.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to work with private covid-19 lateral flow test providers to ensure that tests are affordable; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Manufacturers and retailers of devices have autonomy to determine the pricing of lateral flow device tests and the pack sizes available. However, the Government has engaged with manufacturers and retailers on setting affordable prices to ensure a private market exists and flourishes.