Public Health England (PHE) seem unable to increase the daily number of tests in line with European neighbours. During the last decade, funding for public health has been fragmented and downgraded. Spending on the public health grant in 2019-20 was £850m lower in real terms than initial allocations in 2015-16. But for an overall crisis response, UK Sage was too narrow in scope. During an epidemic, public health expertise is vital.

Source: The Guardian April 01, 2020 15:41 UTC