Introduction

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in England in March 2020, the Secretary of State for local government advised councils to spend what it would take to manage the crisis and then the Government would compensate them (Sharman 2020). This promise was short-lived (Calkin 2020) and the funding provided was a small amount, particularly in comparison with the scale of task required and the size of the private sector contracts given to the companies such as Serco and Deloitte for TTT and privatised PPE procurement.

In Scotland, the response to the pandemic was always cast as a local approach within a national framework, with medical officers of health being supported by local teams including local authorities for TTT, as well as other measures for well-being, the economy and mental health (Scottish Government 2020a). This approach has been accompanied by local protection levels which are similar to the tiered lockdown in England (Scottish Government 2020b). In Scotland, travel outside the local area has always been included in local protection measures but, on 20 November, the FM set out regulations to stop travel to and from England. In Wales, the Welsh Government, Welsh Local Government Association and Public Health Wales (PHW) have been working together throughout the pandemic, coordinated by PHW, which is also aligning the management of the pandemic with Brexit. The test, trace and protect system in Wales has worked with local authorities and local health boards, using a system for following up local contacts of those who are infected which has been successful in contacting 96% of those identified (Stephens 2020), a much higher rate than in England.

When English local government was reformed in the1880s into its current format, the Government was motivated towards these changes to provide a greater protection for the local management of public health. Earlier reforms led by Chadwick (Hamlin 1998) demonstrated that infectious diseases and viruses were localised in the spread and had to be managed in a local way, starting with cholera in Soho. The leadership of Joseph Chamberlain in Birmingham also was based on the principles that healthy, well-fed households and an educated workforce were essential for local and national economies (Marsh 1994).