Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of domestic sports men and women being tested for the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs during the covid-19 outbreak.

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) releases its testing figures on a quarterly basis. UKAD’s latest quarterly report covering July to September 2020 shows 1,406 tests were conducted. This represents an increase from the 126 tests conducted in the period before, covering April to June 2020. The drop in testing during this period was due to UKAD’s decision in March 2020 to significantly reduce its testing programme due to the pause in competitive sport caused by Covid-19.

UKAD has been working closely with medical experts to ensure new testing processes comply with the highest standards of safety and sport-specific considerations in light of Covid-19. UKAD has developed a protocol for its Doping Control Personnel to follow to ensure the safety of its testers and those being tested. This procedure is in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s guidance for resuming testing, and is fully outlined on UKAD’s website.