SO now we have it – £37 BILLION for Test and Trace, but according to a report by MPs “it is hard to point to measurable difference the Test and Trace system has made”.

It finds half the contacts in some areas. Promises of a “world-beating test and trace” have just not materialised. Some “consultants” paid £6,600 per day. It has NEVER met the target of 24-hour turnaround. Complex cases have been traced by local council public health.

READ MORE: Tories 'using taxpayer like ATM' and wasting billions, committee report says

The above is what happens when we rely on private companies instead of using the tried and tested public health system which is part of NHS.

Even the Duke of Edinburgh, when he needed heart surgery, was moved from an exclusive private hospital to the NHS St Barts for surgery.

So the nurses are worth a 1% rise – just think how far £37bn would go to paying nurses, carers, porters, cleaners etc in hospitals instead of lining the pockets of Tory friends and donors.

Winifred McCartney
Paisley