Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost to his Department was of disposing of expired covid-19 tests over the last two years; and what estimate he has made of the total cost of disposing of expired covid-19 tests in the next year.

No lateral flow device tests held by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have been destroyed in the last two years.

In 2022/23, the UKHSA has a budget of approximately £2.7 million for the disposal of obsolete stock and associated costs. This is managed in accordance with the principles of managing public money and the waste hierarchy, to ensure value for money considerations and the least impact to the environment.