Public sector spending on consultants hits record high despite efforts to cut Big Four Public sector spending on management consultants has ballooned to a near-record high this year despite efforts to cut reliance on the expensive sector. Fees to consultants from central government, local authorities and other departments swelled to an estimated £3.4bn in the last fiscal year between 2023 and 2024, a rise of 12 per cent on [...]
UK’s top civil servant said Boris Johnson ‘cannot lead’, COVID inquiry WhatsApps reveal UK Politics Cabinet secretary Simon Case messaged former chief of staff Dominic Cummings while the coronavirus pandemic ripped through Britain, saying the then-Prime Minister’s behaviour left him “at the end of my tether”, the UK COVID-19 Inquiry has heard.
Amazon to sell PCR Covid-19 tests for Brits travelling Amazon Amazon will sell Covid PCR test kits to travellers as the giant online retailer moves in on the Covid-19 market. The online retailer will sell government-approved tests for £34.99 each and offer discounts for those bought in bulk, the Guardian reported today. Travellers coming into the UK will be able to use the tests sold [...]
Pre-departure Covid tests may be ditched to simplify travel restrictions September 15, 2021 Ministers plan to make an announcement later this week which will mean vaccinated people arriving into England will no longer be subject to pre-departure Covid tests, according to reports. A government insider told the Financial Times, which first reported the news, that measures to simplify travel restrictions and aid the UK’s struggling travel and tourism [...]
Covid vaccine protection could fall below 50 per cent for the elderly by winter August 25, 2021 A leading scientist has warned that the protection provided by two doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines could fall below 50 per cent for the elderly by the winter months. The test results from 1.2m users of the Zoe Covid app showed that protection from two jabs starts to wane “even within six [...]
National Covid-19 antibody surveillance programme launched by government August 22, 2021 A nation-wide antibody surveillance programme for the public has been launched by the UK Health Security Agency to collect data to build the government’s understanding of immunity against Covid-19. The government today announced that free home antibody tests kits will be offered to adults in the UK who test positive for the virus from Tuesday. [...]
PCR test problems: Complaints soar as drop boxes overflow August 10, 2021 Covid PCR supplier Randox is to resolve issues with its test sample drop-off boxes as photos emerge of them overflowing and long result wait times are reported. The move comes as people posted photos online of full drop boxes in Sutton and Hampstead on the weekend. The swarms of samples are expected to increase as [...]
Test & Trace provider Serco sees profit rises 58 per cent August 5, 2021 Outsourcing company Serco Group saw a 58 per cent jump in profit following a strong first-half, the Test & Trace provider told the market this morning Revenue for the business rose to £2.2bn in the six months ending June 30, which grew 19 per cent over the last period. Underlying trading profit for the first-half [...]
Private Covid travel tests: Overpriced, unavailable and unaccredited? August 4, 2021 Private Covid PCR test providers will come under investigation from the UK’s advertising watchdog and the government for their hugely variable pricing, while only a fraction can claim to be fully accredited. Government health officials are to carry out an audit of the 420 listed PCR test providers on the gov.uk website and plan to [...]
More industries exempt from isolation and testing sites expanded in effort to ease pingdemic July 26, 2021 More workers are now able to avoid Covid self-isolation after the government expanded a pilot workplace testing scheme in a bid to halt the “pingdemic” causing staff shortages across England. Prison staff, some veterinary staff, telecoms organisations, defence staff such as soldiers, HMRC staff and refuse collectors will now be eligible for exemption. It comes [...]