Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much (a) has been spent in 2020-21 and (b) is projected to be spent in 2021-22 on consultancy fees for NHS Track and Trace.

The 2020/21 NHS Test & Trace total budget was £22 billion. The Department’s annual report and accounts 2020-21 reported an actual of £13.5 billion for this period. The 2020-21 NHS Test & Trace budget for consultancy was £460 million. The interim and unaudited financial position indicates that actual expenditure for this period was approximately £195 million. NHS Test & Trace operated in an environment of high uncertainty, where demand for testing and tracing was affected by new variants, case numbers and policy decisions such as national lockdowns. As a result, monthly spending fluctuated throughout the year. A breakdown of NHS Test & Trace audited expenditure for 2020-21 is intended for future publication.

The NHS Test & Trace Programme has been allocated £15 billion in 2021-22, spend figures will be published as part of the annual accounts at the end of the financial year. Future spend in this area will be in line with demand.