Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of continuing the covid-19 testing for health and care settings beyond autumn 2022.

Symptomatic testing in high-risk health and care settings will continue at least until March 2023 for specific groups where infection can spread rapidly among those who may be at higher risk of serious illness. Additionally, during periods of high prevalence, asymptomatic testing will be available in such settings.

The Government will continue to keep the response to COVID-19 under review to ensure it remains effective and proportionate. Beyond autumn 2022, we will continue to monitor prevalence and other factors to determine whether asymptomatic testing is needed in high-risk settings.