Written question asked by Rachael Maskell (Labour) on Tuesday, 6 October 2020, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 12 October 2020 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Monday, 12 October 2020. A substantive answer was provided by Helen Whately (Conservative) on Wednesday, 25 November 2020 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Coronavirus: Contact Tracing

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the recent loss of test data, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of enabling local Directors of Public Health to run their own test and trace service.

Answer: NHS Test and Trace has always been a partnership between local and national Government. Since August, NHS Test and Trace has provided local authorities with dedicated team of contact tracers to work alongside local public health officials to provide a more specialist service. Local public health officials can use the data provided by NHS Test and Trace to follow up with cases, which in some areas has involved local teams and voluntary partners visiting people at home.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 99663
Session: 2019-21
Subjects: Software Screening Public Health England Coronavirus Contact tracing
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk