Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Imperial College's publication of 23 April 2020 entitled Report 16: Role of testing in COVID-19, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the finding that weekly covid-19 screening for healthcare workers, irrespective of their symptoms, is estimated to reduce their contribution to covid-19 transmission by 25 to 33 per cent.

Regular testing of specific groups can be beneficial provided there is a clear clinical rationale. And there is some evidence that repeat testing of National Health Service staff can help to reduce the rate of transmission.

Increased testing capacity means we will now be able to extend regular testing to asymptomatic staff, guided by Public Health England and clinical advice. This approach is currently being piloted in a number of acute, community and mental health providers, which will inform further roll out in the future. ?