To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff are employed under the Serco test and trace contract.
This answer is the replacement for a previous holding answer.
Answered on
10 July 2020
NHS Test and Trace is supported by a three-tier operating model in England. Tier 3 are call handlers employed by Serco and SITEL and phone the contacts of COVID-19 cases who need to self-isolate.
Serco and SITEL are contracted to provide a level of resource as defined within their contractual terms to ensure tier 3 calls are made seven days per week between the hours of 08:00 – 20:00.
As at the end of June, 18,488 people were employed as Tier 3 call handlers. Serco employs 10,788 people and SITEL 7,700, and all tier 3 call handlers work four hours or more per shift.
Throughout June tier 3 call handlers, on average, made 146 call attempts per hour.