Education secretary Gavin Williamson has failed to guarantee that pupils and teachers who need them will be able to get local Covid-19 tests within 48 hours, when questioned by MPs today.

Robert Halfon, chair of the Commons Education Select Committee, asked Mr Williamson if he could guarantee that, where there is a suspected outbreak among staff or pupils, they could be tested within 48 hours without having to “drive long distances”.

The question came amid growing controversy over the lack of testing availability forcing thousands of pupils and staff to stay at home.

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In response, Mr Williamson did not give this guarantee but pointed out that schools have been sent home-testing kits.

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Each school was given 10 such kits at the start of term and can now order more.

He said: “Schools are, I think, the only organisation that has a set of testing kits that has been sent to them directly in order to ensure that if they are in a situation where someone isn’t in a position to be able to get a test then they actually have testing kits on site.

“That is something that is quite unique and very important.”

He also said that schools can order more kits from today, as Tes revealed yesterday.

Mr Williamson told the committee that he had met with the head of NHS Test and Trace, Baroness Harding, to “continue to emphasise the importance and priority we have to put on all our schools and education settings about how vital it is that we always ensure there is testing available”.