Politics

NHS Test and Trace should ‘work like jury duty’ and see people paid to self-isolate, Andy Burham says



The Mayor of Greater Manchester has slammed the NHS Test and Trace programme as “not good enough” and called for payments “akin to jury duty” for anyone asked to isolate by its system.

Andy Burnham has warned that the current set will mean that poorer people, who cannot afford two weeks without pay while self-isolating at home to ensure they do not spread the virus, will avoid the system.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday that he is concerned some are already not handing over names of their contacts to NHS Test and Trace staff for fear of putting friends and family in a “really difficult position”.


Mr Burnham insisted that the national contact tracing effort will not work effectively until the issue is addressed.

He explained that he believes the system is “not good enough yet”, saying: “So when I say not yet, it’s because in Greater Manchester, when you look at the contacts of people who are testing positive, the wider group of friends and family, only 52 per cent of people are being reached by the national Test and Trace system.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has said that the NHS Test and Trace system needs to change( PA Archive/PA Images)

“And I think one of the reasons for that, there’s a number of reasons, but one is a number of people in our poorer communities are finding it very, very hard to agree to a request to take 14 days off work when they know they won’t be paid, or worse, they will lose their job.

“And this of course particularly affects people who are self-employed, or who are on zero hours contracts.”

Asked whether he was saying that people are not handing over contact details of friends because they know it would have implications for them and their friends which they could not afford, Mr Burnham said: “The average rate the last time I checked was that people were giving the names of two and a half contacts, which suggests to me that some people are not producing names because they know their wider group of friends and family would be put in a really difficult position.

“And I think we need to do something here that’s akin to jury service, you know, when you get a request to serve on a jury you’re being asked to fulfil your public duty, and a request from NHS Test and Trace is similar because it’s in the wider good of the local community that you take that time off work.

“So it shouldn’t be that people are being kind of prevented from doing so by financial worries or worries about their job.

“What I’m saying to the Government is if people get those requests, they should immediately be able to self-isolate and this scheme should work on the jury service principle.

“They should be able to do it on full pay without any worries about those things.”

Boris Johnson has insisted the system is world beating (AP)

Earlier this week, the Mayor was joined by his Birmingham counterpart, Andy Street, in calling for people to be financially supported by the government while isolating.

Mr Street called the idea “eminently sensible”.

Figures published earlier this week showed the beleaguered system, which is costing the Government £10 billion to set up and run, is still not reaching one in five who test positive.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted that NHS Test and Trace is “world beating”, saying that Britain was testing more per head than the rest of Europe.

A Government spokesperson said: “NHS Test and Trace is working, with over 2.6 million people tested and more than 218,000 people prevented from unknowingly spreading the virus. Every day local authorities receive test, case and contact tracing data, with further data being shared with local Directors of Public Health, to support with their outbreak management responsibilities.

“Our priority is to curb the spread of this virus and save lives. Local action to tackle outbreaks is crucial, which is why we are working so closely with all local authorities, including Manchester, to provide additional support where needed.”

Mr Burnham said local lockdown measures in Greater Manchester need to be maintained as cases are still “increasing across most boroughs”. The Government is expected to make an announcement on Friday on the status of the measures in the North West of England and Leicester.

Measures banning mixing between households were due for review on Thursday, a week after they were brought in for residents in Greater Manchester, parts of east Lancashire and West Yorkshire, as well as Leicester.



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