Oral Answers to Questions

Jack Lopresti Excerpts

Tuesday 1st September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

What recent assessment his Department has made of the reach of NHS Test and Trace.

[Jack Lopresti (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Con)]

What recent assessment his Department has made of the reach of NHS Test and Trace.

[Selaine Saxby (North Devon) (Con)]

What recent assessment his Department has made of the reach of NHS Test and Trace.

--- Later in debate ---

[Matt Hancock]

My hon. Friend has played a very important role, and I pay tribute to her and her community for playing a role in the success of the local action that we had to take in Stockport and other parts of Greater Manchester, which meant that we were able to release the measures last week. I am grateful for her work, the work of her council and other local leaders and, most importantly, the people of Stockport, who have worked hard and followed the rules, and the case rate is coming down. She is right that the integration of a national system that can move fast at scale and a local system, which can often reach more contacts because there are boots on the ground and people who know the communities inside out, is critical.

[Jack Lopresti]

In my right hon. Friend’s assessment, how does our track and trace programme compare with those of other countries, and what lessons are we learning from countries such as Germany and South Korea, which seem to be having some success with their systems?

[Matt Hancock]

Of course we learn the lessons, and I talk to my international counterparts, including those in Germany and South Korea. Compared with international systems, with the figures that I just read out, we are absolutely in the top tranche, and we are constantly looking all around the world to see how we can improve the operation of test and trace.