Markus Andrews

The government’s Test and Trace service, introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic, could run until at least 2025, recently published consultancy contracts suggest.Four new government contracts with Deloitte and Accenture, potentially worth up to £111.1m in total, see the two multinational firms contracted to carry out work relating to the contact-tracing service, initially for 18 months from 29 October.But if extended to their full length, each of the four contracts with the government’s new UK Health Security Agency – which took control of Test and Trace in October – could run until 29 April 2025.The new agreements come despite pledges by the Department of Health and Social Care to reduce the use of external consultants in the Test and Trace system, amid criticism from MPs who recently warned the service had failed “to achieve its main objective” despite being handed roughly a fifth of the NHS annual budget in two years.By the end of October, Test and Trace reportedly employed 1,230 consultants, potentially costing some £1.35m each day – although this would mark a significant reduction from the 2,239 consultants said to have been employed in April, then accounting for nearly half of the service’s central staff.One of the new contracts also suggests that officials believe travel curbs may be needed for years to come, with Accenture asked to work on systems that “provide the capability to track and monitor compliance against international travel regulations associated with arrivals from red, amber and green countries”.As part of a second contract with Accenture, the firm has also agreed to work on developing services “to support the increasing use of the private market for the provision of testing”. The two contracts could together see the firm handed up to £43.9m if they are extended in full.Deloitte, meanwhile, stands to earn up to £67.2m from its two new contracts for work relating to contact-tracing and customer feedback operations, among other areas. The firm was also handed a £56.5m contract with NHS Digital last month to keep providing IT systems for the Covid-19 National Test Service until 31 March, which according to the Financial Times brings the the total value of Deloitte’s pandemic-related public sector contracts beyond £500m.In response to the paper’s report on the most recent consultancy deals, Labour MP Meg Hillier, who chairs the public accounts committee, said: “They need to wean themselves off this approach, especially if it’s going to run until 2025, potentially.”Referring to Test and Trace’s £37bn budget in its first two years, Ms Hillier added: “With that amount of money, they have repeatedly said they want a legacy, and that legacy should not be paying consultants on a regular basis. This should be bread and butter stuff for the UKHSA.”A UKHSA spokesperson said: “Drawing on the expertise of private sector partners to provide specialist technology and services is often vital to our work to respond quickly and at scale to health threats.“We continue to build a strong team of expert and generalist civil servants and always recruit to the civil service wherever we can.”The Independent has also approached Deloitte and Accenture for comment. More

Boris Johnson has once more been forced to introduce social restrictions to combat the coronavirus, with the recent emergence of the omicron variant in southern Africa providing fresh cause for concern.As we head into the festive season, the prime minister has brought back mandatory mask-wearing on public transport and in shops, cinemas, theatres and places of worship, asked citizens to work from home where possible and made an NHS Covid pass or negative lateral flow test a necessary requirement for entry to crowded venues and events involving mass gatherings.More countries have also been added to the travel “red list” in the interest of stopping the global spread of the new variant, the precise characteristics of which are not clear at this early stage in its development, although it is feared it could have the potential to usurp the delta variant as the dominant strain of Covid-19 in a matter of weeks given its high transmissibility.In his latest televised address on the pandemic, Mr Johnson warned of a “tidal wave” of infections breaking on these shores unless the public adhere to the new measures and get their vaccine booster jab as a matter of urgency.The rollout of third shots is being greatly expanded to address the omicron threat, with the aim of offering one to all over-18s by the end of December, bringing forward that deadline by a month and placing further pressure on medical professionals across the country in the process.That decision came in response to findings by the UK Health Security Agency indicating that two jabs do not offer strong protection against symptomatic infection from omicron, with the current suite of vaccines less effective against it than they were against delta.However, that same analysis also concluded that those who had received a booster remained up to 70 per cent protected, underlining the importance of getting a third shot as soon as possible.As of Monday morning, the UK had recorded 3,137 cases of the omicron variant and its first 10 patients in hospital plus at least one death, according to the PM.In all, a total of 48,854 new Covid cases were recorded on Sunday evening, with the number of infections over the past seven days up 11.9 per cent to 360,480.Fifty-two more deaths were also recorded, making 834 in total over the course of the last seven days.Meanwhile, just 40.2 per cent of British adults have had their booster injection so far, although demand is high so that figure should continue to climb rapidly as more people make an appointment and roll up their sleeves.Speaking during a visit to a west London vaccination clinic on Monday, Mr Johnson sought to strike a reassuring note, saying: “Throughout the pandemic I’ve been at great pains to stress to the public that we have to watch where the pandemic is going and we take whatever steps are necessary to protect public health.“We think the steps that we are taking – so Plan B, combined with a hugely ambitious acceleration of the booster campaign, bringing it forward by a month so we offer a booster to every adult by the end of the year – we think that’s the right approach.”He is not currently planning to make a formal address on 13 December but the usual statistical update will take place this evening and we can expect a further announcements from the prime minister in the coming days as the omicron situation develops. More

Booster jabs will be on offer on Christmas Day and Boxing Day as the NHS ramps up its vaccination drive in a bid to meet Boris Johnson’s target of protecting everyone eligible in England by the end of the month.Downing Street declined to set a figure for daily jabs to hit the “challenging” goal, which will require around 1m boosters a day for the remainder of the month – almost double the current rate and well above the maximum of 752,000 achieved in March.Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson confirmed that the aim was to deliver jabs to those eligible by the end of the month, amid confusion over reports that the Department of Health was guaranteeing only to offer an appointment which could take place later. He accepted that in individual cases – such as people who are currently suffering from Covid or those who leave booking to the last minute – it may not be possible to fit in a jab before New Year’s Eve.Some 750 troops were drafted in to help speed up the effort which must be dramatically accelerated in order to come close to the 20m vaccinations needed to meet Mr Johnson’s goal.Servicemen and women will be deployed as vaccinators as well as assisting the NHS with planning on a national and regional level, said Downing Street.People aged over 30 in England became eligible to book a booster vaccination from Monday morning, while those aged 18 or over were able to attend walk-in clinics to get their jabs.Those trying to book jabs this morning were frustrated by lengthy queues on the website, though 110,000 managed to secure appointments by 9am.In a tweet, the health service said: “The Covid vaccine booking service is currently facing extremely high demand so is operating a queuing system.“For users aged 18-29, please be aware that booking opens on Wednesday 15 Dec.“For all others experiencing waits, we would advise trying again later today or tomorrow.”Meanwhile, orders for lateral flow tests were temporarily suspended due to what the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) described as “exceptionally high demand”.No 10 said there was ample supply of the test kits themselves, but there were not enough mailing slots available to send them all out.Downing Street said that there had been “some challenges” with the surge of traffic on the booking website and efforts were under way to increase capacity.“Our booster programme has been increasing at speed,” said the PM’s spokesperson. “Vaccinations will continue to be offered throughout the Christmas period – if there is demand, on Christmas Day and Boxing Day – and we are confident the NHS will be able to match it.”Capacity in terms of numbers of vaccinators and numbers of doses is being increased at all sites with the aim of significantly boosting vaccination rates, said the spokesperson.But he said the authorities were not setting a daily target because of the awareness that numbers will fluctuate widely depending on factors such as the day of the week and bank holidays.Some 600 personnel from across the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force have been made available to NHS England, delivering jabs in small teams across the country, and another 51 will help with planning, while more than 100 are assisting in Scotland, the Ministry of Defence said.Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “We have rapidly mobilised service personnel to work alongside our dedicated health services to accelerate the vaccine booster programme.“Our armed forces will help to get vaccines into arms as quickly as possible as we continue our efforts to support the UK’s response to the pandemic.”It comes as St John Ambulance made an urgent appeal for volunteers to help the vaccination effort.The charity’s head of community response, Adam Williams, said: “St John Ambulance recruited and trained almost 30,000 vaccination volunteers – including 20,000 vaccinators – between November and March.“If everyone who trained to vaccinate with St John steps forward now, even for just two six-hour shifts, we will have more than enough people to do everything that’s required of us over the next few weeks and help the nation get ahead of the Omicron variant.”Vaccination volunteers have been contacted over the last few days, with more details of how to book shifts and a message from England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam.He wrote: “The vaccination programme has succeeded in achieving levels of protection previously unimaginable. It’s going to require a Herculean effort and I am asking you personally to be a part of it by undertaking vaccinator shifts as soon as you possibly can.”The NHS in England said that the opening hours for vaccine centres will be extended with more “pop-up” sites expected.Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the NHS in England, said: “The NHS has already stepped up to the mark and delivered the fastest and most successful vaccination programme in health service history and staff are once again doing everything possible to increase the number of appointments available every day.“The best way to get your vaccine is by booking online or by calling 119 – please do keep checking availability as we load more appointments onto the system every day.” More

Boris Johnson has claimed he did not break Covid rules in place during the run-up to last Christmas by hosting a Christmas quiz for staff at Downing Street.The prime minister is facing claims he breached regulations by attending the virtual event on 15 December while tier 2 rules which banned household mixing were in force in London.Responding to claims he violated curbs – after he was photographed leading the virtual quiz at No 10 alongside two aides – Mr Johnson told broadcasters: “I can tell you that I certainly broke no rules.”Despite his denial, the PM confirmed that cabinet secretary Simon Case’s investigation into a series of festive events at No 10 last year would be expanded to include the quiz.Asked if the top civil servant would be investigating the virtual quiz, Mr Johnson said: “Is that the thing with the Zoom quiz? Yeah.”Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to a vaccination clinic in west London, the prime minister said: “The whole thing will be looked into by the cabinet secretary … He’s looking at all these things.”He added that the results of the probe would come back “as soon as we reasonably can”. Downing Street also confirmed on Monday that the PM’s appearance at the virtual quiz will be included in the Case inquiry.The head of the civil service was already investigating claims of a December Christmas party and November staff leaving do at No 10, as well as festive drinks at the Department for Education.An image published by the Sunday Mirror shows Mr Johnson flanked by colleagues, one draped in tinsel and another wearing a Santa hat, in the No 10 library for the festive quiz.The newspaper quoted a source who said many staff were huddled by computers in their Downing Street offices, conferring on questions and drinking alcohol while the quiz was taking place.Labour said the PM “might have misled” MPs after he told the Commons he had been given assurances that social distancing regulations were not broken by No 10 last year.Sir Keir Starmer said it is “very hard” to see how the tier 2 rules could have been adhered to in the quiz. Official guidance set out there should be no work lunches or parties “where that is a primarily social activity” and they were not exempted for “work purposes”.Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said Mr Johnson’s credibility was “in tatters” and said the quiz appeared to be a clear breach of the rules. “He’s not Anne Robinson. He was conducting a quiz at the time you should not have been socially mixing in London.”Asked on BBC Breakfast why Sir Keir stopped short of calling for Mr Johnson to resign, instead saying he was “unfit to lead”, Mr Lammy said: “Well, that must, in the end, be a matter for the prime minister.” More

At least one Covid patient in hospital has been confirmed to have died after contracting the omicron variant, Boris Johnson has said.“Omicron is producing hospitalisations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with omicron,” said the prime minister during a visit to a vaccination clinic in west London.Mr Johnson repeatedly declined to rule out further Covid restrictions ahead of Christmas, as he warned the variant posed a risk to the NHS unless there was a huge expansion of booster jabs.“I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that’s something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population,” he said.The PM said that omicron now represents about 40 per cent of Covid cases in London and warned that tomorrow “it’ll be the majority of the cases” in the capital.Pressed on the possibility of further curbs before Christmas, Mr Johnson said: “Throughout the pandemic I’ve been at great pains to stress to the public that we have to watch where the pandemic is going and we take whatever steps are necessary to protect public health.”He added: “We think the steps that we are taking – so plan B, combined with a hugely ambitious acceleration of the booster campaign, bringing it forward by a month … we think that’s the right approach.”Health secretary Sajid Javid said earlier on Monday that 10 people in England have now been hospitalised with omicron.The PM repeated the government’s goal to “offer a booster” to every adult by the end of December. He has set the new deadline of getting everyone over 18 a booster by the end of the month – which would mean jabbing almost a million people every day.The NHS booking system will be open for those over the age of 18 from Wednesday, though many will be able to use vaccination walk-in centres from today, as 42 military planning teams set up additional vaccine sites.Mr Johnson insisted that there is still a “ready supply” of lateral flow tests in the UK, after the government’s own website said on Monday that “there are no more home tests available”.The PM told broadcasters: “They can get those tests – we do have a ready supply of lateral flow tests. If you can’t get one online for any reason, then there are ample supplies in the shops.” He suggested that the website problems showed “people are doing the sensible thing and getting tests as well.”It comes as the NHS booking site has been hit with technical problems amid a rush of 100,000 people booking their booster jabs on Monday morning.Meanwhile, Mr Johnson warned Conservative MPs thinking of rebelling against plan B measures at a crucial Commons vote on Tuesday that they had to recognise there was “no room for complacency” in dealing with omicron.“We have the vaccines, our position remains incomparably better than it was last year. And I hope that people will also understand – colleagues in Westminster, around the country – will also see that the measures we’re putting in place are balanced and proportionate.” More

The investigation into last year’s Downing Street Christmas parties held during strict Covid curbs could be expanded to include Boris Johnson’s hosting of a quiz night, a cabinet minister has confirmed.The prime minister is facing calls to answer allegations he broke Covid rules by attending a No 10 staff quiz on December 15 while tier 2 rules which banned household mixing were in force in London.Health secretary Sajid Javid said cabinet secretary Simon Case’s investigation could include Mr Johnson’s quiz event, after he was photographed leading the virtual event alongside two aides.“Simon Case has been given a broad remit to investigate anything he thinks should be [investigated], any type of gathering at Downing Street that should be looked at, on any particular day he wants to,” the minister told Sky News.“So if he wants to look at this he will. It’s going to be a decision for him,” Mr Javid added. “He will have seen that photo, I’m sure, himself. But let him do his job.”The Times reported that the online quiz will be included as part of Mr Case’s investigation into potential rule-breaking. The Cabinet Office has pointed to the terms of reference for the probe – which state that the inquiry can be widened “where there are credible allegations relating to other gatherings”.The cabinet secretary is reportedly set to announce his findings into the festive parties at both Downing Street and the Department for Education later this week.Asked if there was a possibility the probe could be pushed beyond Christmas, Mr Javid said: “I’m sure if he can publish the results sooner rather than later I’m sure he will – there’s no reason not to.”Meanwhile, Labour said Mr Johnson “might have misled” MPs after he told the Commons he had been given assurances that social distance regulations were not broken by No 10 last year.The party is demanding that Mr Johnson attend parliament on Monday to “fess up” about whether he and staff partied and socialised while Covid restrictions were imposed on the public.Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC that the latest revelation about Mr Johnson playing the part of impromptu quiz master alongside two aides meant it was “very hard” to see how tier 2 rules could have been adhered to.Labour MP Neil Coyle said the Metropolitan Police should investigate the Downing Street gatherings and question the prime minister.“There are people who were fined on the same days last year – why should it be any different for the prime minister,” said the backbencher. “Everyone who was there should be questioned by the cops, including the prime minister.”It comes as The Sun said Mr Johnson and his-then fiancee Carrie Johnson had been seen flouting lockdown rules during a dinner at a London restaurant in October 2020.The paper quotes eyewitnesses who said Mr Johnson was seen approaching the tables of other guests while not wearing a face covering, and that the couple did not leave the premises until after the 10pm curfew had passed.At the time, venues in the capital were subject to strict rules which, as well as the curfew, required diners to wear face coverings when moving around and banned different households mixing.A No 10 spokeswoman said: “It is categorically untrue to suggest the PM did not adhere to curfew rules in place at the time. Any small delay would have been for operational security reasons.” More

Boris Johnson’s plan to introduce voter identification in the UK risks disenfranchising voters and reducing turnout at elections, a cross-party group of MPs has warned.The Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) urged the government to stop the passage of the Elections Bill – which would make photo ID mandatory at polling stations.“There is a concern that a voter ID requirement will introduce a barrier preventing some people from exercising their vote,” warned a committee report released on Monday.The report said that when the requirement to produce photo ID at polling stations in Northern Ireland in 2003, “the turnout at the 2004 Northern Ireland Assembly elections dropped by 2.3% as a direct consequence”.The cross-party group of MPs said the ease with which people can vote in the UK was and “admirable and crucial tenet of our democratic process” and warned that compulsory ID would “remove an element of the trust inherent in the current system.”Conservative MP William Wragg, chair of the committee, said the government’s aim of preventing potential voter fraud was a “noble cause” – but said the cross-party group “remains unconvinced that the scale of the problem justifies the solutions as they have been put forward”.The influential Tory backbencher also warned against parts of the bill which could give Downing Street more power over the Electoral Commission.The Elections Bill would allow the government to set out the watchdog’s priorities and direction in a strategy. The Electoral Commission chair John Pullinger warned last week that this would be “inconsistent” with the body’s status as an independent body.“Any government proposal which might directly or indirectly influence the independent regulator over its operations and decision-making will invite suspicion, especially when plans have been drawn up behind closed doors,” said Mr Wragg.The Tory chair said the majority of his committee now wanted the bill “paused” to make sure the electoral system can be protected.“We feel that the Elections Bill proposals lack a sufficient evidence base, timely consultation, and transparency, all of which should be addressed before it makes any further progress,” he said.The report claims the committee received a significant number of pieces of evidence raising concern that voter ID would cause additional barriers to voting for particular groups – such as disabled people, transgender voters and non-binary voters and black and ethnic minority groups.On concerns raised by groups representing LGBTQ+ communities, the report said: “The LGBT Foundation for example raised concerns about transgender voters and non-binary voters being able to access appropriate forms of ID.”According to the report, the Runnymede Trust also raised concerns that introducing a voter ID requirement “would add further barriers to voting for black and ethnic minority groups who are already less likely to be registered to vote and significantly less likely to hold forms of ID such as a driving licence”.Responding to the report, a spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said: “We should not be complacent when it comes to ensuring our democratic process remains secure.“Our Elections Bill will stamp out the potential for voter fraud, and will bring the rest of the UK in line with Northern Ireland, which has had photo identification to vote in elections since 2003.The DLUHC spokesperson added: “The UK government will be providing additional funding to cover the costs of implementing our reforms, and voters who do not have one of the required forms of photographic ID can apply for a free local Vote Card.” More

Omicron is spreading at a “phenomenal rate” and 10 people in England have now been hospitalised after getting infected with the Covid variant, health secretary Sajid Javid has said.Mr Javid said there had been no deaths yet confirmed in England, but revealed that omicron was probably behind around 40 per cent of infections in London and warned the NHS could be overwhelmed without a rapid expansion of the booster programme.“What we now know about omicron is that it’s spreading at a phenomenal rate, something that we’ve never seen before – it’s doubling every two to three days in infections,” the minister told Sky News.“In England, there’s about 10 people that are confirmed in England with omicron,” said Mr Javid, who said he did not know how seriously ill the omicron patients are in hospital.The health secretary added: “At this point in time I can’t confirm a death [from omicron] … There is always a lag between infection and then hospitalisation and then, sadly, death.”Encouraging people to come forward for their booster jab, Mr Javid added: “We’re facing a tidal wave of infection, we’re once again in a race between the vaccine and the virus.”Boris Johnson said on Sunday evening that the nation must “urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection” as he set the new deadline of getting everyone over 18 a booster by the end of December – which would mean jabbing almost a million people every day.The prime minister said scientists had discovered that two doses of a vaccine is “simply not enough” to prevent the spread of the new variant and that without a massive expansion booster campaign the NHS could be overwhelmed.The NHS booking system will be open for those over the age of 18 from Wednesday, though it is hoped many young adults will be able to use vaccination walk-in centres from today.The “emergency operation” will be assisted by deploying 42 military planning teams across every region and setting up additional vaccine sites and mobile units, and the clinics will be open seven days a week.Prof Robert Read, a member of the Joint Committee for Vaccines and Immunisation (JCVI), told LBC radio that scientists already knew omicron was “highly infectious, transmissible, and it will get through the UK population pretty quickly.”He said the severity of illness was not yet known but people were vulnerable, especially the unvaccinated, warning: “We need to get those third doses in to as many adults as we possibly can, just in case this virus turns out to be a raging bull just rather than a pussy cat.”It comes as the boss of the organisation which represents NHS trusts said pressure on the health service is “not sustainable” as the UK faces a wave of omicron Covid infections.Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, told Sky News: “It’s a worrying time, but as you’d expect everybody on the NHS frontline is doing absolutely the best they can to provide the best possible care.”He added yesterday’s request from the prime minister for “extraordinary effort” comes as staff are “very, very tired”, adding: “I think staff are worried, to be frank, that this level of pressure is going to become normalised and it’s not sustainable.”The NHS will have to postpone some planned appointments in order to meet the target of giving every adult in England a booster jab by the end of the year.Mr Javid said it “should not be the case” that people die because they can’t get treatment on the NHS during the Covid booster drive.The health secretary said some appointments and some surgical procedures may be “pushed into the start of the new year” while vaccinations are ramped up, bust said there will still be a focus on “urgent need”.Asked about people who fear they might have cancer, who are normally seen within two weeks, Mr Javid told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “That will be completely unaffected. That is an urgent appointment.” More