Free Covid testing could be scrapped as Treasury looks to cut costs
The government reportedly plans to scale back on free Covid testing amid concerns that the scheme costs the taxpayer billions of pounds.
Discussions are underway in government over whether to scrap mass testing policies which allow people to attain free lateral flow and PCR tests the Telegraph first reported.
France and Germany both announced that they would no longer distribute free Covid tests by the end of October.
In a recent press release the government confirmed that free testing could come to an end, stating “at a later stage, as the Government’s response to the virus changes, universal free provision” will come to an end with the “individuals and businesses using the tests” bearing the cost instead.
However, these changes could come into effect sooner than expected with a Whitehall source telling the Telegraph that current rates of testing are unacceptable.
The news comes despite rates of infection in the UK now being five times higher than other European countries including France, Germany and Spain.
Rates of infection in the UK are five times higher than neighbouring countries in Western Europe with only a handful of European countries, such as Romania and Serbia, registering worse infection levels. In Britain daily cases per million people have shot above 500 while in Germany, France and Spain the figure remains below 100.
More clarity on plans for mass testing are expected when the Autumn budget is announced later this month.
Read more: Covid capital: Cases in UK now five times higher than in France, Germany and Spain