Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the roll-out of COVID-19 home testing kits, whether their preferred testing method is (1) a lateral flow test, or (2) a saliva-based test; and what are the reasons for any such preference.

Our preferred method of home testing is swab-based lateral flow devices (LFDs) for asymptomatic people and swab-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for symptomatic people. LFDs are used as they are practical, easy to interpret and can be used in a wide range of settings. PCR tests are used for those with symptoms as they are more sensitive to low levels of virus.