Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies research and analysis, Potential application of Air Cleaning devices and personal decontamination to manage transmission of COVID-19, 4 November 2020, whether his Department has received any independent validation that UV technology in standalone air cleaners provides any additional benefits to the benefits of a leakage free high-efficiency particulate absorbing filter in such a system would give.

The Department has not received or commissioned any such independent validation and no further assessment has also been made of the potential merits for the deployment of air purification systems as the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Health and Safety Executive are responsible for determining future policy and regulatory action.

The Government has established a programme to improve CO² monitoring and ventilation across public and private sector buildings to help limit transmission in autumn and winter and improve long-term pandemic resilience.