Exclusive: Public Want Test And Trace Taken Off Private Firms
The vast majority of people think large private firms should be stripped of their test and trace contract and the job handed to town halls, says a new poll.
The Survation survey, shared exclusively with HuffPost UK, shows 74% want local public health teams, rather than Serco and Sitel, to run NHS Test and Trace.
Just 14% want the vital service to be run by a private company, the poll commissioned by We Own It and shared exclusively with HuffPost revealed.
It comes as the government’s testing regime was in chaos, with figures last week showing three quarters of a million Covid test requests are going unanswered every day.
Several reports also showed that in many cases, where someone could book a test, they were forced to travel long distances and wait in queues to get checks.
The national track and trace system in England is largely managed by outsourcing giant Serco and call centre company Sitel.
The companies were initially contracted to run the system up to August 23. However, their contracts were extended, potentially up to the value of £528m.
Dido Harding, chair of NHS Test and Trace, last week defended testing failures by saying there was an “unexpected” surge in demand, with many people who do not have symptoms said to be seeking checks.
Critics, however, say the system is too centralised and point to a steady decline in the rate of close contacts traced since the system was introduced.
We Own It’s director Cat Hobbs said “the government’s much promised ‘world-beating’ system is anything but”.
She added: “And the public understands this. This poll is a damning indictment on the government’s track and trace system. The overwhelming majority of the public want to see it run by the people who know what they’re doing - local public health protection teams and the NHS.
“It’s absolutely staggering that the government is clinging doggedly to its failed, privatised system. It’s time for them to face reality. It’s time...
