THE established system for contact tracing is operated through Public Health England (PHE) and run by local public health protection teams in the public sector. Its services had been badly eroded as a result of decades of cuts and closures.

Instead of rebuilding capacity, the Government decided to create a centralised, privatised system managed by outsourcing giant Serco and call centre company Sitel – which had no experience in contact tracing.

The 27,000 workers employed by Serco and Sitel have reached and advised an average of about two cases and two contacts per call handler over a twelve week period. That’s the equivalent of around £900 per person traced. Call handlers report having nothing to do and some have had no calls to make at all – with some even claiming that they have been paid to sit around and watch Netflix.

Things have got so bad that local councils across England, from Sandwell to Suffolk, have set up their own test and trace schemes out of sheer frustration at the failures in contact tracing.

Meanwhile, PHE and its local public health protection teams are already proving exceptionally effective – despite underresourcing and the fragmentation inherent in the system.

PHE teams are reaching and advising 95 per cent of the contacts – whereas the privatised system run by Serco and Sitel is only reaching 57 per cent.

So what does the Government do? It is disbanding PHE!

The very same companies whose handling of the 'test, track and trace' has put public health at risk – Serco and Sitel – are still going to be undertaking contact tracing.

Having already received £200 million, Serco and Sitel’s contracts expired this week – and the Government seems likely to extend them by an additional £528 million.

More than 10,000 people have already written to their council leaders asking them to write to Matt Hancock and demand he scrap Serco. Collectively, they’re saying they don’t want a single penny more given to Serco.

I would encourage all your readers to write to their council demanding the same.

John Maguire

Rickmansworth Road, Watford