Test and Trace 'barely used' check-in data from pubs and restaurants

According to a confidential report obtained by Sky News​​​, the £22bn scheme failed to use check-in data for alerts or contact, which 'potentially led to the spread' of Covid-19.

When data captured by venues was used, the report found that many public health officials encouraged pubs and restaurants to contact customers directly, breaching data protection law and leaving businesses vulnerable to legal action.

Responding to the report, UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said it was 'incredibly frustrating', and urged regulators to remember that businesses breaching data protection laws were acting on unclear guidance from Government, which made it mandatory for certain venues to collect customer information from September.

“Our teams worked really hard to capture that data on the understanding that it was going to be used should there be problems,” she said.

“To hear that it wasn’t used, and in fact we had further restrictions without really any clear evidence that there was a problem with hospitality, is a major cause for concern.”

Shadow health minister Justin Madders said the report revealed 'a staggering level of dysfunctionality' at the heart of the Test and Trace system.

He told Sky News​: “It seems thousands of people may have been infected unnecessarily because there wasn’t the capacity, joined up-thinking or direction to ensure the systems in place were being used properly.”