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 potential merits of introducing a fast track covid-19 testing system for school (a) teachers and (b) staff.

We are committed to supporting schools to stay open and as part of this, teachers with symptoms are being prioritised for tests. It is important that teachers who experience potential coronavirus symptoms quickly get clarity on whether they have the virus so those without it can safely return to their classes.

The Government have developed a dedicated route to enable schools to order additional tests kits online via a replenishment portal which can be accessed here. This dedicated route is used to replenish test kits and signpost staff to the online booking portal should any additional need for testing arise.