Test and Trace
In May, the government promised that they would establish a world-beating test, track and trace system that would contain the virus and avoid a second wave. The government has given a £12 billion contract to a private company called Serco to set up a new national test and system from scratch. A system that has never achieved its weekly contact targets, a system we later found out was being run on outdated spreadsheet software and a system that has failed to contain localised outbreaks. The system has failed, and now it is time the government handed control of test and trace to local councils along with the funding needed to make it work. Luton Council is an example of why we should be empowering local councils and utilising their expertise. The government should fix testing and handover track and trace to local authorities.