Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has been made of the accuracy of covid-19 test results; and what steps he is taking to audit the covid-19 testing procedures.

Laboratories performing testing for COVID-19 within the National Health Service and Public Health England operate according to the International Standard ISO15189 for Medical Laboratories which ensures the end to end laboratory processes provide a safe and efficient service. As part of this criteria, the laboratories must perform a validation exercise with documentary evidence that any assay is suitable for its intended purpose.