LONDON (UK) – British police forces have been given access to details of people asked to self-isolate under the government’s ‘test and trace’ system, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said late on Saturday.
A spokesman for the department said it agreed with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) that officers could have access on a case-by-case basis to information looking at whether a specific individual has been asked to self-isolate.
The spokesman said in an emailed statement, “The memorandum of understanding ensures that information is shared with appropriate safeguards and in accordance with the law. No testing or health data is shared in this process.”
The development was reported earlier by Sky News, which also cited an NPCC statement saying police will continue to encourage complying to the same voluntarily, however, it will implement regulations and issue fixed penalty notices (FPN) as per requirement.
The NPCC statement said “Where people fail to self-isolate and refuse to comply, officers can issue FPNs and direct people to return to self-isolation. Officers will engage with individuals to establish their circumstances, using their discretion wherever it is reasonable to do so.”
The test and trace system, which was put forth by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has seen setbacks including a glitch identified earlier this month.