Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Competition and Markets Authority report entitled, CMA Rapid Review of PCR testing for travel, published in August 2021, on what date his Department responded to that Report's recommendations; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Due to the evolving nature of this policy, the Department did not issue a written response to the Competitions and Markets Authority’s (CMA) report. However, officials met with the CMA on 27 September 2021 to discuss the Department’s response to the CMA’s recommendations and the proposed changes to international travel testing from polymerase chain reaction testing to lateral flow device testing (LFD). On 23 December 2021, officials met with the CMA in light of the transition to LFD testing and the emerging Omicron variant. A further meeting was held in spring 2022.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to (a) provide covid-related advice for travellers and (b) regulate pricing for travel-related PCR testing; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The UK removed all mandatory border health measures on 18 March and Gov.uk guidance has been updated. Passengers travelling from the UK should always check the latest FCDO Travel Advice which covers other countries’ entry requirements.
There are no post-arrival tests required for passengers entering the UK but the government’s focus will continue to be on ensuring that there is accuracy and transparency of pricing in the private testing market.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will update her department's travel guidance for Somalia to better reflect the constitutional and territorial differences between Somaliland and Somalia.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The FCDO Travel Advice provides information and advice to help British nationals make informed decisions about foreign travel. FCDO Travel Advice provides travellers with updates and information, including the latest advice on issues such as coronavirus, safety and security, entry requirements and travel warnings. Area-specific advice, including in relation to travel to Somaliland, is contained within the FCDO travel advice for Somalia.
Asked by: Lord Willoughby de Broke (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why UK nationals returning to the UK are still required to complete Passenger Locator Forms following the removal of all other COVID-19 requirements.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
To help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and respond effectively to any variants of concern, U.K. health authorities must have the correct contact and travel information for all passengers arriving into the U.K. Consequently, the completion of an accurate Passenger Locator Form (PLF) remains a mandatory requirement for travel.
The current international travel regulations require different measures to be taken dependant on a passenger’s vaccination status. The PLF enables passengers to verify their vaccine status through the form.
The PLF has recently been updated to simplify the form and extend the completion window. As other measures at the border are lifted, health measures remain under regular review and adjusted in line with the latest public health advice. The necessity of the form and its contents is kept under constant review.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to remove covid-19 restrictions on international travel.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
From 4am on Friday 18 March, COVID-19 border restrictions will be lifted for all passengers entering the UK. This means that passengers arriving in the UK, regardless of their vaccination status, will no longer be required to complete a Passenger Locator Form or take any COVID-19 travel tests. That means we are the first major economy to get back to the kind of restriction-free travel we all enjoyed before COVID.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, If he will review his Department's estimates of projected traffic growth on the strategic network to take account of changed behaviours as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department regularly reviews the evidence on the drivers of travel demand and sources of uncertainty and will publish an update to the road traffic forecasts 2018 in due course. The next set of National Road Traffic Projections (NRTP) will provide a strategic view of how demand for road travel may evolve in the future and explore uncertainties associated with future demand including the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. The Department collects numerous sets of data that help inform its view on travel demand, which will inform NRTP, including:
The National Travel Attitudes Study asks questions about changes in travel behaviours, such as levels working from home before and during the pandemic. This longitudinal survey data is a key element of the Department’s evidence on changing travel habits during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as people’s intentions going forward.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
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 help ensure that delivery of day two covid-19 PCR tests are not affected by the disruption to postal services over the Christmas period.
Answered by Maggie Throup
For day two polymerase chain reaction tests, the UK Health Security Agency worked with delivery partners to ensure that this service was available over the Christmas period. Contingency plans were also in place to cope with any adverse weather conditions. Where tests are purchased from private test providers, the delivery of the service, including appropriate logistics and contingency planning around disruption, is the responsibility of the private provider.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many travellers who completed a passenger locator form and entered England from a non-red list country since 24 October failed to complete a day 2 lateral flow COVID-19 test; what percentage of the total number of such travellers entering England this figure represents; and what steps they have taken as a result.
Answered by Lord Kamall
This information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2022 to Question 126706 on Treasury: Coronavirus, if he will make it his policy to require individual risk assessments for all employees at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) before they return to the workplace following the easing of covid-19 restrictions; and how many individual risk assessments for people returning to work have been conducted by HMRC as of 2 March 2022.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Throughout the pandemic HMRC have, in line with UK and Devolved Administration Guidance, made the Health & Safety (H&S) of employees their top priority, and put in place robust control measures to deliver on that. Measures include facilitating working at home where possible and providing a range of mental health and wellbeing services for employees wherever they are based. HMRC ensured suitable ventilation and additional cleaning in their workplaces, as well as the mandation of the wearing of face coverings in their Scottish offices. For offices in the other UK nations, there was an expectation that face coverings would be worn from Summer 2021 to January 2022.
The HMRC Chief Executive gave notice on 31 January 2022 that from 28 February colleagues in England and Scotland will move to new ‘hybrid’ ways of working. As greater numbers of HMRC employees return to the workplace, the Department has put in place a ‘Return to Office Discussion Toolkit’. This gives managers and employees an opportunity to consider health, safety, and wellbeing in the context of the employees’ personal circumstances, to identify any concerns, and the right next steps and solutions. The Toolkit includes an Individual Risk Assessment, which can be used to help employees and managers understand the cumulative risk, to consider what additional controls can be put in place, and to make an informed decision about next steps. If any concerns are identified after working through the individual risk assessment, professional Occupational Health advice and welfare support is available. Completing the Individual Risk Assessment is not mandated in HMRC, which reflects the Scottish Government Guidance position that employers “should continue to conduct individual risk assessments … where necessary”. This remains the position going forward, subject to any changes in UK or Devolved Administration Government Guidance.
As part of the Toolkit and risk assessment process, HMRC have recognised that there may be some colleagues who need additional flexibility and support as part of their return to the office. Therefore, HMRC managers have the flexibility and discretion to support employees with plans that might run to a slightly longer timeframe. The ‘Supported Returns Plan Toolkit’ allows additional time to enable solutions to be put in place for the employee’s return to the office, as well as the continuation of support for them, such as additional utilities, travel expenses, and London pay easement, where applicable.
Whilst HMRC requires each manager and employee to have a Toolkit-led conversation as part of return to office planning, they do not retain records of how many individual risk assessments for people returning to work have been conducted.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many private companies offering COVID-19 PCR tests for those returning to England from abroad have been reported for failing to meet the two-day test result return requirement from November 2021 to date; and how many of these companies have since been removed from the Government website.
Answered by Lord Kamall
We closely monitor the performance of private providers, including delivery and testing services. Those providing inadequate services receive a warning allowing the company to demonstrate it has rectified its service or it is removed from the GOV.UK list. Private providers may be reinstated to the list once they have undertaken corrective action and provided the Department with such evidence.
The information requested on the number of companies which have failed to meet the two day requirement is not currently available, as this data is not yet centrally validated. No providers have been removed as a direct result of failing to meet the two-day test result return requirement alone. All providers have a legal requirement to report on a daily basis to achieve all minimum standards, which includes the returning of test results within two days.