Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Lateral Flow Covid-19 Testing

Tuesday 17 November 2020 · 1 question

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Sarah Olney asked the Secretary of State for additional funding to local authorities for lateral flow COVID-19 testing.
  • NHS Test and Trace provides local directors of public health access to tests, training, and guidance.
  • Local authorities have funding available up to 8 per head of population for testing support.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Sarah Olney Lib Dem Richmond Park
Context

The MP is concerned about the roll-out of lateral flow tests in local authorities.

Question

If he will allocate additional funding to local authorities to support the roll-out of lateral flow COVID-19 testing. I welcome the allocation of lateral flow tests to both Kingston and Richmond in my constituency to allow for mass testing. Can the Secretary of State confirm whether, in addition to the support he has just outlined for the testing, there will be additional resources to support local tracing efforts and to support those who are found to need to isolate?

Answer from Matthew Hancock

In addition to giving local directors of public health access to tests, NHS Test and Trace will provide access to training, clinical, operational and service design guidance, and communication and engagement support. In addition, all local authorities have funding available up to £8 per head of population to support the roll-out. Absolutely, the funding to support people who need to isolate is in addition to the funding I just outlined, which supports both the roll-out of mass testing and local contact tracing, and we always keep these things under review.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify additional resources for local tracing efforts or isolation needs beyond confirming existing £8 per head funding.

How: We Always Keep These Things Under Review

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