IT will not have escaped readers’ attention that the Covid-19 testing regime is not working well.

News reports tell us that people are being directed hundreds of miles away to get tests, only to find that when they get there, the centre is closed, or their appointment has not been logged.

To be fair, a lot of people are getting tested and there is a huge surge in people seeking tests.

But of course, this problem comes at the same time that schools have gone back, we are encouraging people to go back to work, and universities start imminently.

Of acute worry to me is the effect on parents’ lives as they diligently get their kids back to school, and of the effects on schools doing their utmost best to deliver the education that our next generation not only desperately need, but have a right to.

And there is confusion about the rule of six, and how that works in practice. You can go to the pub, but you can’t mingle in the park. I can see why this is frustrating.

The problem facing the government is one of maths. The answer to the problem of beating this virus is to get the reproduction rate – the so called “R Number” – to below 1. It now stands as high as 1.2, meaning the virus will spread exponentially.

To calculate the R Number, there are many, many statistical inputs. So, in very simplistic terms, if you allow schools to go back, you need a corresponding reduction in exposure elsewhere.

An epidemiologist described it rather like a finance problem: if you borrow to create a credit to one group, you have to create a matching deficit with another.

The challenge, and the policy conundrum, is to decide what sections of society you want to give credits to, and at whose expense. Education is vital. Livelihoods are crucial. So who gets to pay? It looks like social groups are in the frame.

I’m in contact with all the schools locally. Teachers have been asked to enlarge their remit from education to include infection control.

It is a huge ask of a group highly dedicated professionals and they need all the systems in place to work efficiently and effectively - as do all employers and those across our NHS and care system.

Like all MPs, I am pushing hard for the government to sort out testing, track and trace, and the delivery of simple messages.