Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of utilising the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to ensure that companies are not overcharging for covid-19 tests.

In the United Kingdom, all international arrivals travelling from outside the Common Travel Area are required to book a testing package before travelling to England to protect themselves and the public. Testing requirements and therefore the costs paid by international arrivals, are set according to the risk posed by travel from ‘red’, ‘amber’ and ‘green’ list countries.

Since requirements were introduced for international travel testing, the costs of travel testing have fallen significantly. The Government is committed to working with the travel industry and private testing providers to reduce the cost of travel testing whilst also ensuring travel is as safe as possible. NHS Test and Trace testing is priced at the mid-market level. GOV.UK shows a list of private providers to allow international arrivals to select providers based on cost, location and types of test on offer.