Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Covid-19 Testing Infrastructure

Tuesday 18 January 2022 · 3 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • UK continues to provide one of the highest testing rates globally.
  • Capacity for PCR testing increased by over 200,000 tests per day since December.
  • Procurement of lateral flow devices will include another 750 million this month.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Mike Wood Con Kingswinford and South Staffordshire
NHS
Context

The question arises from an assessment of the UK's capacity to handle PCR tests compared to other nations, focusing on home delivery for lateral flow devices.

Question

What assessment he has made of the capacity of the UK's covid-19 testing infrastructure in comparison to other countries. Health and social care workers who care for some of the most clinically vulnerable members of our society were rightly prioritised for early vaccination; does she agree that they must be prioritised for testing? What is she doing to ensure that?

Answer from Maggie Throup

The UK continues to provide one of the highest testing rates globally. We have increased capacity for PCR testing by over 200,000 tests per day since December. Home delivery capacity is now at 7 million lateral flow tests every day, with community pharmacies supplying an additional 9.5 million tests last week. The most vulnerable people are being prioritised; the UK Health Security Agency and NHS Test and Trace deliver over 70,000 PCR kits and 970,000 LFD kits a week to adult social care settings.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific commitments or timelines on prioritizing testing for health and social care workers beyond acknowledging it is happening.

How: Under Review, Working With Partners

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Mike Wood Con Kingswinford and South Staffordshire
NHS
Context

The Government recently announced a reduction in self-isolation duration from seven to five days if testing negative with lateral flow devices, raising concerns about the impact on demand for such tests.

Question

I thank the Minister for her response. The Government have recently announced that self-isolation will be cut to five days, given a negative lateral flow test; has the Minister come to an assessment on the impact that will have on demand for lateral flow tests?

Answer from Maggie Throup

As we look at policy and amend it like we did last week, it is right that we make sure that we can fill those requirements. I reassure the hon. Gentleman that we can, and we have increased the procurement of lateral flow devices. This month, we will get another 750 million lateral flow devices into the UK for January and February.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific details on impact assessment but reassured that demand can be met.

How: Under Review

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q3 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
NHS
Context

The World Health Organisation recently suggested the UK may be among the first countries out of the pandemic due to factors such as vaccination and testing programmes.

Question

I am sure the whole House will welcome the early signs of falling numbers of people in hospital with covid; does the Minister have any comments on the news yesterday from the World Health Organisation that it thinks that the UK looks set to be one of the first countries out of the pandemic, and how much weight does she put on the vaccination and testing programme?

Answer from Maggie Throup

My right hon. Friend makes a really good point. We know that omicron numbers are still really high, and we still have more than 2,000 people hospitalised every day, so we do need to be cautious. But my hon. Friend is right, in that our vaccine and testing programmes have been vital in being able to tackle this deadly virus.

Not addressed: Did not directly address the WHO's assessment but instead commented on current hospitalisations and acknowledged importance of vaccination and testing programmes generally.

How: Changing Subject

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)