Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide financial support to establish a lateral flow covid-19 testing site at Portsmouth International Port.

Covid-19 testing sites have been located at thirty-five Information and Advice sites (Motorway Service Areas and Truck Stops) across the country, linked to key haulier stopping spots on their journey to ports.

The Department for Transport has set-up three Information and Advice sites near Portsmouth that provide free testing for hauliers. The closest one on the M27, at Rownhams (Northbound) Services, operates 24 hours a day.

The Department for Transport worked closely with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Resilience Forum to identify suitable locations which would minimise local disruption adjacent to ports. Site locations were determined by analysing such criteria as proximity to port, proportion of haulage traffic using the route, and capacity of the parking available. Covid-19 security has also informed the locations and site infrastructure.

The Department for Transport continues to urge hauliers not to leave testing to the last opportunity, and to get tested well before arriving at their port of departure.