NHS Test and Trace Public Advisory Group

In June 2021, the group brought together 100 people from different backgrounds to consider issues that people in England experienced as the country faced the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

We’ve now completed the Public Advisory Group sessions with 100 members of the public and advocacy representatives from some of our marginalised groups.

Many thanks to all who took part and contributed to the successful delivery of these sessions.

The rest of this page gives background information on the group: how it came together, how it was run, and who provided oversight.

Role

The purpose of the NHS Test and Trace Public Advisory Group was to ensure that members of the public, especially those most at risk from the virus, had the chance to feed into the government’s ongoing work to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group was asked to consider issues such as:

  • how the government might use data to reduce public health risks and what this means for individual privacy
  • how support measures can be provided in an equitable way

The group participated in a series of workshops to:

  1. build their knowledge and understanding of the issues
  2. discuss and share their views, insights and questions

Ipsos MORI, Imperial College Health Partners and Involve collectively ran the group on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS Test and Trace.

Participants

A letter was sent by Ipsos MORI to 20,000 people across England. The organisers randomly selected 100 people from those who responded to the letter. This process was designed to make sure that group members reflect the many communities of England and are of diverse age, gender and ethnicity.

A profile of the backgrounds of the 100 people selected is published in the report, so members of the public can see how the group represented the population, but without identifying those taking part.

Workshops

The workshops took place in June.

Presentations from the workshops.

Outcome

At the end of the series of workshops, the organisers produced a report that presents the views and recommendations of the Public Advisory Group to NHS Test and Trace (which is now part of the UK Health Security Agency). You can download the report from the link on this page.

Independent Advisory Group

The project was steered by an Independent Advisory Group who provided oversight, direction and challenge throughout the project.

The Independent Advisory Group met regularly during the design phase, before the workshops began, and then twice – once during, and once after the workshops had taken place. They provided input into shaping the questions and related content for the workshops.

The Independent Advisory Group:

  • helped to ensure that the material was comprehensive, balanced, and accessible for participants
  • held the organisers accountable for ensuring the whole process was inclusive, robust and rigorous

NHS Test and Trace and the organisers took responsibility for the decisions on the process, workshops, materials and dissemination of the outcomes, and were guided and advised by the Independent Advisory Group.

The role of the group was advisory and its members were independent from the Public Advisory Group.

Members of the Independent Advisory Group

The members of the Independent Advisory Group were:

  • Michael Burgess (Chair), Professor of Biomedical Ethics, University of British Columbia
  • Paul Plant, Deputy Director, Public Health England (London region)
  • Hetan Shah, Chief Executive, The British Academy
  • Renate Samson, Principal Policy Advisor at Which?
  • Abigail Gallop, Principal Policy Adviser at the Local Government Association
  • Mehrunisha Suleman, Senior Research Fellow at the Health Foundation
  • Mahlet (Milly) Zimeta, Head of Public Policy at the Open Data Institute

Independent Advisory Group meeting minutes