A WIRRAL MP has urged the health secretary to clarify what is being done to fix the "inadequate" coronavirus test and trace system after a rise in cases.

In a letter to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock, Wirral West MP Margaret Greenwood stressed the importance of government committing to sharing full and timely testing data with local authorities to support them in managing local outbreaks.

She added that the Government had, so far, failed in recent weeks to meet the rise in demand for tests.

The letter was in response to figures which show that in the seven days to September 17, the number of new cases in Wirral had risen to 106.2 per 100,000 people, with 344 new positive cases.

That's up from 313 the previous week - a rate of 96.6.

In Liverpool the figure during the same period was 138.1 per 100,000 people, with 688 new cases.

Because of this Wirral and the wider Merseyside region is now an 'area of intervention' and local lockdown restrictions have been imposed on the area.

In her letter to Matt Hancock, Margaret Greenwood wrote: "In my letters to you dated May 26 and July 17 on this issue, I stressed the importance of the role local authority public health teams play in the response to complex outbreaks of Covid-19, given their unparalleled insight into the communities they represent.

"Wirral Council has been working diligently to communicate essential public health messages to residents and provide support to businesses and organisations across the borough.

"Public health officers in Wirral are working hard to tackle coronavirus at a local level, but they need detailed data to do this.

"Testing is key in the fight against Covid-19 and at this critical stage the government must commit to sharing full and timely testing data with local authorities to support them in managing local outbreaks.

"The government has failed in recent weeks to meet the rise in demand for tests.

"As cases of coronavirus rise and new restrictions are enforced, your department must do everything it can to fix the inadequate test and trace system.

"This includes utilising fully the expertise and knowledge of local authorities.

"The government has said that Wirral Council can have access to the NHS Test and Trace Contact Tracing and Advisory Service (CTAS), but only for local enhanced contact tracing activity, essentially people who cannot be contacted via the national system.

"This means that local public health teams still do not have access to essential data held on CTAS to enable them to find out crucial information about people’s contacts and exposures across different settings.

"This is hindering the ability of the Public Health department in Wirral to carry out its vital work.

"I would be grateful if you could address this important issue as a matter of urgency."