Test and Trace Campaign Response

Thank you to the many constituents getting in touch regarding test and trace.

NHS Test and Trace is essential in our fight against Covid-19 and regular testing is a vital tool to stop transmission as we cautiously ease restrictions. I am extremely proud of the fact that, after building a testing system from scratch, we have carried out over 175m coronavirus tests and have increased PCR test capacity to 800,000 per day. This is more than any other comparable European country, with the UK having the largest testing capacity in Europe.

Protecting communities and saving lives is the Government's first priority and every pound spent on Test and Trace is contributing towards efforts to keep people safe. I believe that it has been extremely important for the Government to fund this vital service as appropriate and I would note that 80 per cent of NHS Test and Trace’s budget is spent on buying and carrying out coronavirus tests, with the remainder spent on contact tracing and other areas of the programme.

It is also worth highlighting that while the NHS App is playing a key role, it is only one part of the wider NHS Test and Trace system. The NAO estimated that as of October 2020 the spend on the App was around £43 million.

The Government is now providing regular rapid testing for NHS and care home staff, thousands of businesses where employees cannot work from home, teachers and secondary school children and their parents. Regular rapid testing identifies new cases of the virus we would not otherwise find, preventing the spread of the disease and saving lives.

NHS Test and Trace is successfully reaching over 90 per cent of the contacts of positive cases - with 98 per cent being contacted within 24 hours, and the contact tracing service has already reached more than 9.1m cases and contacts, making a real impact in breaking chains of transmission.

If you would like to view the statistics for yourself, you can do so on the link below:

Weekly statistics for NHS Test and Trace (England) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you would like to discuss this further or any other matter, then please do not hesitate to contact me.

cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk