Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the test and trace service is not subject to (a) fraud and (b) deliberate false reporting.

The Government launched its new NHS Test and Trace service on 28 May 2020 to control the rate of reproduction (R), reduce the spread of the virus and save lives.

NHS Test and Trace has been developed to Government security standards and we have been advised on measures to keep the public safe. Data on positive laboratory tests is fed into the contact tracing system, which automatically contacts people with COVID-19 by text or email and invites them to log into the system with a set of unique characters alongside a secure link to the site. For those people that are unable to respond via email or text, perhaps because they do not have those options available to them, a phone-based service will contact them and support them through the process.

The Test and Trace service will not ask for bank details or payments, nor will anyone be asked for details of their social media or any pin numbers or be asked to call a premium rate number. If the public are concerned about whether a call or email they receive comes from NHS Test and Trace service they can visit GOV.UK and view a page which lists the official phone numbers used by this service. Anyone who thinks they have been sent a scam message, is encouraged to report it to Action Fraud.

We will be constantly developing and improving the system and ensuring appropriate safeguards are in place to prevent misuse. We have confidence in the public to act responsibly and participate fully and openly in NHS Test and Trace, to protect others and save lives.