Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department taking to ensure that lateral flow testing is rolled out to visitors to supported living settings.

We recognise that in supported living environments, the accommodation is the person’s own home and that for many people in supported living, there are important reasons for having in-person visits. Our guidance for supported living settings includes guidance on visiting safely, and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supported-living-services-during-coronavirus-covid-19/covid-19-guidance-for-supported-living

We currently do not offer any lateral flow testing for visitors in supported living settings. However, this is under review. Our testing strategy is based on clinical advice about relative priorities and developed in consultation with the sector to ensure any testing programmes are practical, deliverable and meet the needs of both carers and people receiving care.