The creation of NHS Test and Trace involves a budget of £22 billion for financial year 2020–21 and the justification for most of its spending being on the central part of the system, rather than through local public health teams, has not been clearly made. Concerns have also been raised about the inability of local public health teams to access timely information. This is particularly concerning given SAGE’s conclusion in September that the system, at that time, was “having a marginal impact on transmission”.