Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 12 October (HL2766), how many suppliers they list as providing PCR tests for travel on the Gov.uk website; what information they require from suppliers who appear on that list; what checks they undertake of firms on that list; and what is the (1) lowest, (2) highest, (3) mean, and (4) median, cost of such tests advertised by suppliers on that list.

As of 15 October 2021, there are currently 555 providers of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for travel listed on GOV.UK.

Suppliers are required to complete a self-declaration against the Government’s minimum standards, which the United Kingdom Accreditation Service will review to met. Providers of COVID-19 testing services are required to apply for accreditation to provide sample collection and/or sample testing services The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Testing Requirements and Standards) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 set out the deadlines for obtaining accreditation. Providers may not market these tests if these deadlines are not met.

The Department monitors issues raised by the public, data submitted by the provider and reports from regulatory and oversight bodies. Where the Department identifies that a supplier is not providing the high-quality service expected, we can ask for remedial action. Where minimum standards have not been met or public safety is at risk, we will ask for improvements to be made and the provider could be removed from the GOV.UK listing.

The lowest cost of such tests is £1.25 and the highest is £1080.00. While the median cost is not collected centrally, the mean cost is £45.00