I agree, it's worrying this was not mentioned. I am beyond disgusted that the time in the summer, when cases were low, was not used to sort this out properly.
Yes, cases are too high at the moment for T&T to be very effective (in most of the country - there are still areas where it could be effective now), but we should be building the system now, in readiness for when cases fall low enough in the spring. Otherwise we'll just be back here again, and again and again ...
It's not enough to just say the system won't work if people don't comply, although that is obvious. We need to work out exactly why people are not complying and remove those barriers.
There's not enough support for people who need to isolate. There's a one off payment for those on means tested benefits but this misses out those who are over the benefit limit and also those with no recourse to public funds. People simply will not isolate if they can't afford it.
Some people will need practical support as well, because they have children or other caring responsibilities.
People need to be sure they will not lose their job if they need to isolate. Job security generally has gone down the pan in recent years and we won't fix that all at once. There are penalties for employers who make someone come in to work if they should be isolating, but no specific penalties for dismissing someone or otherwise disadvantaging them. This needs to be made an 'automatically unfair' reason for dismissal so that employees are protected from the first day of employment and not just after two years.
Without this support in place, the criminal fine for those who fail to comply has simply added a disincentive to get a test in the first place and a disincentive to dob your mates in as contacts.
The other big problem at the moment is lack of trust and this is trickier to solve. At the moment the whole system is completely top-down, for example there have been loads of threads where the OP knows they are a contact (because their friend / relative has told them they have tested positive) but until they are contacted by T&T they cannot get time off work and there's no way for them to self-report as a contact. There also doesn't seem to be any way for those who are contacted to get back in touch with T&T if they have further questions or need support.
So T&T is this huge, faceless process that is done to people, rather than a process that invites engagement and true cooperation. It's no surprise people don't trust it.
The bulk of the system needs to be handed over to local authority public health. Good article here:
The purpose of this briefing is not to articulate a detailed new model but to suggest that, given the shortcomings of the Test and Trace Service, now is the time for a serious conversation about a more human and local system that is closely rooted in the daily lives of people and communities and makes it easier for us all to take the right action to keep ourselves and those around us safe.
www.adph.org.uk/2020/10/explainer-test-and-trace-service/
That's what I reckon, anyway.