Test and Trace ‘barely used’ pub and restaurant data

The £22b Test and Trace service “barely used” check-in data from pubs and restaurants for alerts or contact tracing, according to a report seen by Sky News.

The report apparently said that not only were thousands of people not warned they might be at risk of infection, but hospitality businesses were encouraged to contact customers directly, a breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and leaving them potentially facing legal action.

A CGA survey of more than 20,000 hospitality venues last year found just 1% of venues had been linked to NHS Test and Trace contact incidences, while a similar UKHospitality survey saw businesses report just 104 notifications from the system over 14 weeks.

The service was launched in May 2020 and from September it became a legal requirement for venues to have a system in place to record contact details of their customers, visitors and staff.

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