Will we have to pay for lateral flow tests?

Free lateral flow tests (LFTs) for members of the public may soon become a thing of the past, with the rapid devices provided only in “high-risk settings” such as hospitals and schools, according to reports.

A senior Whitehall source told The Sunday Times that it is “likely we will move to a scenario where there is less testing” as part of the government’s plans for the UK to attempt to live with Covid. “I don’t think we are in a world where we can continue to hand out free lateral flow tests to everybody for evermore,” the unnamed source said.

Around £6bn has been agreed by the government in contracts for lateral flows, said the paper, although it added that “this is probably an underestimate”. According to the government, 1.7 billion tests have been distributed across the UK since the start of the pandemic. However, last June, the National Audit Office said the results of just 14% of the lateral flows sent out in England at the time had been registered with Test and Trace.

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Nadhim Zahawi ‘plays down’ suggestion

Appearing on Sky’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi “played down” the suggestion that the government was ending its provision of free lateral flow tests for members of the public, said The Guardian.

“He said the ultimate aim was to move to a position where Covid was endemic in the UK and the country had learned to live with the virus,” the paper added.

However, Housing Secretary Michael Gove did not directly answer Sky News’ Kay Burley when asked whether LFTs could be phased out in the coming weeks. The rapid tests will be free for “as long as we need them”, he said.

On Twitter, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the suggestion that Downing Street could end the scheme as “utterly wrongheaded”. “Hard to imagine much that would be less helpful to trying to ‘live with’ Covid,” she added.

A government spokesperson told the Sunday Times that “everyone can continue to get free tests” and that “record numbers of tests are being delivered to pharmacies, homes and those who need them”.

“Testing continues to play an important role in helping people live their day-to-day lives, keep businesses running and keep young people in school,” they added.

Supply chain issues

Last July, reports suggested that rapid tests would no longer be available online for free past September. However, four months later, packs of seven LFTs are still available for members of the public to order per day from the government website.

But despite LFTs still being free to order online, supply chain issues have meant that it has been almost impossible to find a delivery slot in recent weeks.

The at-home Covid tests are designed to be used by people who do not have symptoms of the virus – so can play a key role in identifying infected people who would otherwise not have been tested.