Guardian learns ‘hundreds’ of consultancy staff ‘on standby’ for ‘back-office’ roles with other firms contacted for help
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The government is preparing to shore up its £10bn coronavirus test-and-trace programme by drafting in teams of management consultants.
The programme, where 90% of tests are failing to hit the 24-hour turnaround target, has been touted as a key way in which the country can return to relative normality in the absence of a Covid-19 vaccine and manage any second wave of the virus. However, the system has struggled despite the prime minister pledging earlier this year to create a “world-beating” service. It has been condemned as “barely functional” as it struggles to handle demand of up to four times capacity.
