Test and Trace failed in its ‘main objective’, highly-critical report finds
NHS Test and Trace has failed to achieve its “main objective” of helping break chains of COVID transmission and allowing people to return to normality despite being given an “eye-watering” amount of money, a highly-critical report from MPs has said.
According to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the programme’s outcomes have been “muddled” and a number of its goals have been “overstated or not achieved”.
Test and Trace was developed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to test the public and trace the contacts of positive coronavirus cases.
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March – MPs: ‘No clear evidence’ Test and Trace works
But its performance has been criticised in the past, including by the PAC.
The MPs said in an initial report in March that despite having access to “unimaginable resources”, Test and Trace could not produce “clear evidence” it had reduced the spread of the virus.
Since the virus emerged, Test and Trace has been given £37bn – a sum equivalent to 20% of the entire annual budget of the NHS.
This is a particular focus of the committee’s second report into Test and Trace, with the MPs saying that the programme’s “continued over-reliance on consultants is likely to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds”.
The report says Test and Trace has failed to reduce its reliance on expensive contractors, who are paid an average of £1,100 per day.
The MPs also bemoan the fact that there is yet to be a “flexible” approach to using laboratories, something that “risks wasting public money”.
According to the committee, Test and Trace has been focused on getting programmes up and running and “paid less attention to ensuring these programmes delivered the benefits they promised”.
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March: Minister says pandemic would have been ‘one heck of a lot worse’ without Test and Trace
Uptake of its services is described in the report as “variable” and “only a minority of people experiencing COVID-19 symptoms get a test”, with some vulnerable people much less likely to take a COVID test than others.
Test and Trace is due to be moved into the new UK Health Security Agency, a development the MPs say should be used to set out a proper long-term strategy” for the programme.
Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the committee, said: “The national Test and Trace programme was allocated eye-watering sums of taxpayers’ money in the midst of a global health and economic crisis.
“It set out bold ambitions but has failed to achieve them despite the vast sums thrown at it.
“Only 14% of 691 million lateral flow tests sent out had results reported, and who knows how many took the necessary action based on the results they got, or how many were never used.
“The continued reliance on the over-priced consultants who ‘delivered’ this state of affairs will by itself cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds.
“For this huge amount of money we need to see a legacy system ready to deliver when needed but it’s just not clear what there will be to show in the long term.
“This legacy has to be a focus for the government if we are to see any value for the money spent.”
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February: Serco boss defends role in Test and Trace rollout
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said Test and Trace had “played an essential role in combating this pandemic”.
“As the Public Accounts Committee acknowledges, there have been improvements in testing capacity, turnaround times and speed and reach of contact tracing – and improved collaboration with local authorities,” she said.
“The fact is NHSTT is saving lives every single day and helping us fight COVID-19 by breaking chains of transmission and spotting outbreaks wherever they exist.
“More than 323 million tests have now been carried out across the UK. NHSTT has now contacted more than 19.9 million people, helping to slow the spread of the virus.
“Testing, contact tracing and the wall of defence built by our vaccination programme are all fundamental to our ongoing efforts to keep people safe as we return to a more normal way of life.”
A government spokesperson said: “We have rightly drawn on the extensive expertise of a number of public and private sector partners who have been invaluable in helping us tackle the virus.
“We have built a testing network from scratch that can process millions of tests a day – more than any European country – providing a free LFD or PCR test to anybody who needs one.
“The new UK Health Security Agency will consolidate the knowledge that now exists across our health system to help us tackle future pandemics and threats.”
An amber warning has been issued for snow in a part of the UK, likely to cause travel delays and “stranding some vehicles and passengers”.
The warning, which covers south west England, also warns some rural communities could become cut off and is in place until 2pm this evening.
Pic: Met Office
There is also a yellow weather warning for snow covering the southern counties of England until midnight on Wednesday.
The warning stretches from Kent to Cornwall and up to south London and the Met Office said between 2cm and 5cm of snow could accumulate fairly widely, with as much as 10cm over higher ground.
This week is expected to see the coldest nights of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching -14C on Wednesday night and -16C on Thursday night, both in the North East of England and Scotland, the Met Office said.
Weather warnings issued on Tuesday for snow and ice covering the parts of Wales, the North West of England, west and northern parts of Scotland as well as Northern Ireland will remain in place until midnight tomorrow.
The forecaster said some roads and railways are likely to be affected and there could be icy patches on untreated roads.
Pics: AP
Meanwhile the Environment Agency has said at least 300 properties have flooded across England since New Year’s Eve. It estimates more than 41,000 properties have been protected.
Heavy rainfall over the New Year caused significant river and surface water flooding across the North West of England and Yorkshire and snowmelt has brought further disruption to parts of England, particularly the Midlands, the agency said.
Read more from Sky News:
Terrifying firestorm rips through home of film stars and billionaires
Homes destroyed – how people are coping with floods
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Man says flooding ‘came out of nowhere’
Floods minister Emma Hardy said: “My sympathies go out to the people, businesses and communities impacted by the recent flooding across the country.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe. People must continue to follow their advice and sign up for flood warnings.”
Flood warnings
Some 100 flood warnings were in force across England on Wednesday, with people urged to remain vigilant over the coming days.
A danger-to-life warning was issued on Tuesday morning for the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, but was later removed.
People living in caravan parks in the area were urged by the Environment Agency to act, with a large-scale evacuation needed to save lives.
Firefighters have rescued dozens of people across Leicestershire since Monday, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said.
Hundreds of schools were closed across the UK, with road and rail links blocked, as Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon airports suspended flights because of the conditions.
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