Councillor brands national test and trace a 'shambles'

Tony Pearce hit out at the scheme’s performance at the borough council’s latest full meeting. But he praised the work of local authorities to help control the spread of Covid-19, such as the efforts in July in the wake of an outbreak linked to the Crown and Anchor in Stone.

At the meeting Councillor Pearce called on fellow members to “note the successful test and trace action taken by this council in dealing with an outbreak of Covid-19 in Stone earlier this year".

He added: “This illustrates how using the expertise and knowledge in local authorities is far more effective than handing contracts to national for-profit organisations with no such experience or knowledge which has led to the abysmal failure of the current test and trace arrangements.

“We were promised a world-beating test and trace system. It is a shambles and I think most people now recognise that.

“They tried to create a system from scratch, ignoring local expertise. More recently, thankfully, they have started to involve local authorities. We have in place teams who know the local area and have systems in place to deal with this.

“Local authorities have the expertise in place and it needs to be used and needs to be funded. It needs to be handed over to local authorities to deal with.”

Councillor Pearce’s motion failed to gain enough support from fellow members to be carried however. There were 16 votes in favour and 20 against.

Council leader Patrick Farrington said it was not the time or place to politicise the issue. He added: “I think it’s timely to remind ourselves we are still in the middle of a global crisis and so we should really have the physical, mental and economic wellbeing of our residents uppermost in our thoughts during these difficult periods.

“It is entirely appropriate to praise the work of our officers and staff in dealing with this awful pandemic that we have and to commend their work in conjunction with our local partners. It demonstrates how well our local authorities and parish councils know our local communities.

“We should not forget those on the front line, including health workers and many of our own staff, who are working incredibly long hours. Thank you for that.

“It’s also fair to say that this government, in line with other administrations, makes mistakes. No-one is infallible. We should all be pulling together and doing everything we can to stop the spread of the virus and get back to what matters most.”

But Councillor Gillian Pardesi responded: “I’m absolutely flabbergasted that this motion is being dismissed in the manner Councillor Farrington just has.

“Right from the start of this pandemic I have heard many a person – scientist and experienced academics – say it is local track and trace that we need. To suggest billions, if not millions, of public money has been wasted and we should not ask questions about that I find absolutely extraordinary.”

Councillor Brendan McKeown said: “It beggars belief that the funding to local authorities has been starved over many years and at the time of this crisis local authorities stood up and have been counted and have been shown to be totally more effective than handing out contracts to Serco and the likes of those people.

“Local authorities employ local people with local interests at heart. We have shown at Stafford Borough Council that we can work effectively.

“What we need in central Government is a fundamental change in the way we fund public services and to give it back to public services rather than take it away.”