Capita shares slide on coronavirus-triggered first-half loss August 18, 2020 Shares in outsourcer Capita fell more than 10 per cent today after it said it had fallen to a first-half loss because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The company said its turnaround planned had been torpedoed by the economic effects of the virus outbreak. Shares in Capita, which provides consulting and digital services [...]
NHS Test and Trace to cut 6,000 staff August 10, 2020 The government plans to cut 6,000 staff from the NHS Test and Trace scheme by the end of August, it said today. Those who are left — approximately 12,000 employees — will work alongside local public health teams to reach more people who could be infected and increase their contacts in communities. The tactic is [...]
Serco profit jumps on crisis demand but shares fall flat August 6, 2020 Outsourcing firm Serco said profit jumped 53 per cent in the first six months of the year, as demand for its services boomed during the coronavirus crisis. An additional need for the back office and IT services that Serco provides to the government offset the lack of demand for its transport and leisure services, the [...]
Test and trace programme breaks GDPR laws, government admits July 20, 2020 The NHS Test and Trace scheme that collects contact details of those who have been in close proximity to Covid-19 breaks data protection laws, the Department for Health and Social Care has admitted. Campaigners from the Open Rights Group (ORG) earlier this month threatened legal action against the department over claims the NHS programme has [...]
Coronavirus: NHS test and trace system fails to reach a quarter of cases July 2, 2020 A quarter of people in England testing positive with coronavirus is still not being reached by the government’s test and trace system, according to new figures. Figures from the Department of Health and Social Services show that only 75 per cent of the 6,183 people who tested positive for Covid-19, between 18 and 25 June, [...]
The City View: Matthew Elliott on why the mood music points to a Brexit deal July 2, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by Matthew Elliott, a veteran political campaigner, having been CEO of two successful referendum campaigns – NOtoAV in 2011 and Vote Leave in 2016. He also founded the TaxPayers’ Alliance, Big Brother Watch, Business for Britain and Brexit Central. He has been described by the New Statesman as “one of the [...]
Serco boss defends ‘remarkable’ coronavirus test and trace system July 1, 2020 The boss of outsourcing giant Serco has issued a strident defence of the NHS’ coronavirus “test and trace” system, calling it a “huge achievement”. Speaking to City AM’s City View podcast, Rupert Soames said that 114,000 people had agreed to isolate after being contacted within the first three weeks of the programme. The company has [...]
The City View: Rupert Soames, CEO of Serco, says private sector has ‘proven itself’ during crisis July 1, 2020 In this episode Christian talks to Rupert Soames, CEO of the outsourcing giant Serco, about the private sector’s relationship with government. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Serco, which manages the government’s coronavirus test and trace system, has been on a dramatic turnaround in recent years, something which Soames says was made possible by a commitment to excellence [...]
Mitie snaps up Interserve facilities arm to create outsourcing giant June 25, 2020 Mitie will buy the facilities management arm of rival outsourcer Interserve for £271m, the company announced today, creating a new business with nearly 80,000 employees. The move will make the company the UK’s largest facilities management group, and see Mitie increase its interests in the country’s lucrative outsourcing industry. The acquisition, which was confirmed this [...]
England’s Test and Trace system misses one in four people with coronavirus June 18, 2020 The number of contacts made by positive coronavirus cases identified by England’s NHS Test and Trace system increased to 44,895 in its second week, but it missed one in four infected patients. The Department of Health said today that 5,949 people who tested positive for coronavirus had their case transferred to the contact tracing system [...]