Test and Trace is a strange, ephemeral organisation. The staff are largely consultants. The bosses are execs on secondment
If you're working there - or indeed any part of government - I'd love to know what you make of it. What's the rationale? How did it come to be that way?
The response to our story from DHSC emphasises the immense scale of T&T, which should never be underestimated. But the most common complain I hear about it is the lack of coordination. Wouldn't a permanent leadership team help with that? I'd genuinely like to know
For a reminder of just one of the issues faced by the Test and Trace leadership team, here's my story from Friday
Anyone told to isolate by the contact tracing app can't claim the government's £500 support payment, even if they're entitled to it news.sky.com/story/coronavi…
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Yes it's a hellsite, but here's why I love Twitter. Someone I've never met gets in touch to say his son has tested positive, but even though his whole family has the app, none of them have got a proximity warning. Twenty minutes later we're conducting a joint experiment
We're giving it half an hour. I'll let you know how it goes
It's now been 40 minutes and there's no alert. BUT... I forgot that the notifications aren't instant. They're sent out two-hourly to phones
Sorry if you were waiting for the result. It will be along as soon as I get it
MPs in the north of England are being told that pubs and bars are driving outbreaks. Mass closures are expected in parts of the country. Isn't this the the venue check-in system on the app is for?
This is a huge story. One source tells me that Roche supplies 1 in 5 labs in the UK. The implications of shortages are terrifying news.sky.com/story/thousand…
The focus will be on coronavirus, but this goes far far beyond that. Roche supplies everything from cancer tests to home monitoring systems for patients with heart conditions
At a moment when the NHS is under intense pressure, this will only intensify it
What's the issue? Roche is building new automated warehouse to increase capacity ahead of Brexit
The new warehouse isn’t working, but they haven’t got a backup warehouse - and most labs don't hold their own stock. It's a just-in-time nightmare
The final part of the PM's speech, where he cast forward to 2023, was fascinating. Digital IDs, electric vehicles, super-fast broadband... to enable a life of family and quiet local living
A vision of techno-Conservatism?
Found the bit. He painted a vision of technological transformation, then said it would allow young people in their 20s and 30s to "bring up children in the neighbourhoods where they grew up themselves...
"...and instead of being dragged on big commutes to the city they can start a business in their home town"
This will - I imagine - be appealing to many. But can the UK pivot away from its model in the teeth of a pandemic? And what does this mean for struggling city centres?