Recommendation 21

Government used a range of ways to engage with clinically vulnerable people, to advise them to shield and how to register to access support.51 Government wanted all affected to register whether they needed support or not. NHSE&I and DHSC were initially responsible for advising people to shield, and began sending letters and texts from 23 March. The Government Digital Service developed a website and an automated telephone helpline for people to register for support.52 Government also commissioned a contact centre through the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) to call around 1.8 million people who had not yet registered using the website or automated helpline, despite having been sent letters. The contact centre cost a total of £18.4 million. However, the contact centre was unable to get in touch with around 800,000 people despite MHCLG’s assessment that the centre was making hundreds of thousands of calls every day.53