BRADFORD Council has said care homes and the education sector will be treated "as a priority" when mass testing is rolled out in the district.

The Government recently said the updated guidelines for areas in Tier 3 would mean they could apply for funds to run mass testing programmes of people with no symptoms.

Under the updated Tier 3 guidance, public health directors and local authorities will be able to put forward proposals for where they would like the testing to be and what they would like to prioritise.

It could mean that authorities will target areas or workplaces with the highest infection rates or even target particular ethnic communities by assessing risks.

Speaking today, a spokesperson for Bradford Council said: "We expressed interest in a conversation with Government over lateral flow community testing a few weeks ago.

"Since the announcement we have been putting plans together to enable lateral flow testing to support care home visiting and the education sector as a priority.  We have no date yet from Government as to when the first 10,000 tests will arrive."

Bradford Council first expressed an interest in mass testing during a discussion with Government in early November, paying a "keen interest" in the city-wide pilot in Liverpool and learning lessons from their experience.

Read more: Bradford Council has 'expressed interest' in mass testing - but is not part of initial phase​ 

It has continued to provide tests as part of its local test and trace programme but was not part of the initial mass testing for 66 local authorities.

The only authorities taking part in the West Yorkshire region included Calderdale and Wakefield.

In late November, Kirklees Council said it was putting infrastructure in place for mass testing.

Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, the leader of Bradford Council, said the "real benefit" of mass testing would be "rapid tests" for people who are not experiencing symptoms but may have the disease.

Read more: Figures show only HALF of close coronavirus contacts in Bradford are being reached

Speaking last month, Cllr Hinchcliffe said: "We always said that we will do everything we can to get the infection rate down. No council can do this on its own, it relies on each and every one of us to play our part. And there is absolutely no point in getting tested if you don’t stay self-isolated at home for the full 10 days if you test positive."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has previously said the mass testing will provide "brilliant new lateral flow tests that give results in 15 minutes".