MP demands Health Secretary gets a grip after South Lakes teachers told to travel to Brighton for COVID tests

On the floor of the House of Commons this afternoon, South Lakes MP Tim Farron demanded that ministers intervened after reports of local teachers and pupils struggling to get tests for COVID-19.

Speaking during today's Government COVID update in Parliament, Tim said: "South Lakes headteachers are telling me that they are under pressure with staff off work, struggling to book a test slot - some being advised to travel as far as Brighton!

"Meanwhile some pupils are off school for 10 days, waiting for a test of their own.

"Teachers are doing their jobs absolutely brilliantly - isn't it time the Government did theirs and provide a testing system that works?"

Responding, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "I would be very interested in the examples of people being sent on long distances because the information that I've been given is that that problem has been resolved.

"I'm working incredibly hard to resolve all of the other problems and bring to bear the record size testing capacity that we have."