Mass free Covid testing could be scrapped and limited to high-risk settings such as care homes, hospitals and schools due to high costs to the taxpayer, it is reported.
The government is said to be considering scaling back the current arrangements where everyone has free access to lateral flow tests and some people can get hold of PCR tests.
This move was outlined in the government's winter plan last month.
The report does not state exactly when the free access to lateral flow tests will end, but says changes will begin at some point in the future.
A Whitehall source told the Telegraph: “It’s agreed that universal access isn’t sustainable or necessary given high vaccination levels.
“We now need to decide what the parameters should be that reasonably qualify access to free testing.”
Ahead of the Budget later this month, the Treasury is thought to be convinced that universal free testing should be scaled back soon, and follows similar moves by Germany and France this month.
But other parts of the government are hesitant about ending the scheme at a time when Covid cases could surge this autumn and winter.
The Treasury and Cabinet are understood to support ending free mass testing, with one insider quoted as saying that the cost is the equivalent of 1p on income tax and that taxes could rise if the scheme continues.
Number 10 and the Department of Health and Social Care are believed to be more cautious as discussions take place between the DHSC and Treasury of announcements on all future departmental spending made in the Budget on 27 October.
Downing Street is understood to be playing down the chances of mass free testing ending over the winter and the PM is expected to have the ultimate say on the whether the scheme should change.
Free regular testing was first rolled out in April with the scheme touted as a key to tracking the spread of Covid and to getting back to as normal a life as possible.
All adults in England, even those without Covid symptoms, were urged to check themselves twice a week with lateral flow swab tests.
In June, the National Audit Office said 691 million lateral flow tests had been distributed to the public.
Under the so-called winter plan, published last month, the government said it would "continue to provide the public with access to free lateral flow tests in the coming months”.
"At a later stage, as the government's response to the virus changes, universal free provision of LFDs (lateral flow devices) will end, and individuals and businesses using the tests will bear the cost," it added.
The Telegraph quoted multiple government sources as saying that senior Treasury figures are convinced that providing universal free testing at a cost of billions of pounds is no longer the best use of taxpayers’ money.
Asked whether he would end the universal free testing offer early next year, Health Minister Sajid Javid told Reuters: "At the moment it is available. We haven't made any decisions about next year."
