The UK's objective always was to ostensibly open up international travel, but then ensure that the number and height of hurdles over which would be travellers have to jump was such that it largely made leisure too much hassle for the majority. It surprises me not one iota that the private (rip off) business that are conducting the PCR testing aren't analysing for new variants, they're merely covering a commercial transaction with passengers that has been required by the government. The "Lighthouse" labs and those of the likes of Oxford and Imperial Universities are much more likely to be sequencing to establish the existence of new variants. The uncertainty around the risk level of possible destinations just adds a further (perhaps deliberate) level of uncertainty to the extent that when booking a trip the number one consideration should be "can I afford to self isolate at home should my destination turn amber?" or "can I afford the government hotel stay should my destination turn Red?" If the answer to either is "no" then, don't travel.
As to whether testing regimes are still in place this time next year, I wouldn't bet my house on their having ceased by August 2022.