Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the private providers of COVID-19 tests listed on the GOV.UK website are not accredited by UKAS; and what steps they have taken, if any, (1) to make clear to website users that a listed provider is unaccredited, or (2) to remove unaccredited companies from the website.

Only providers who are providing sample collection and/or sample testing services are required to apply for accreditation. As of 21 October 2021, 189 organisations have achieved full accreditation for the testing services they provide. The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Testing Requirements and Standards) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 set out the deadlines for obtaining accreditation. Providers must not market tests if these deadlines are not met. Currently, we have no plans to differentiate between organisations based on their accreditation status but we will continue to review the situation.