Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Wire/PA Images

The Department of Health and Social Care has equipped the Test and Trace scheme with 16,000 iPhones and related accessories.

Newly published procurement documents reveal that, on 23 November, the department awarded Apple specialist IT supplier Jigsaw24 with a one-year contract – including a break clause allowing the deal to be terminated at the end of March.

The deal, worth £4.06m, covers the delivery of 16,000 iPhone SE devices. The procurement notice indicates that the phones will be used in the Test and Trace scheme, but provides no further detail.

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In addition to the handsets, the contract also covers a wall charger – which the DHSC said should be “Belkin or similar” – for each of the phones. 

Jigsaw24 will also deliver 16,000 lanyards and a “rugged case for the iOS devices, allowing for [a] lanyard to be attached”. These cases should be “Otterbox or similar”, the contract said.

The cost of each phone plus accessories equates to £253.76.

The first iteration of the iPhone SE was released in 2016, with the intention of offering a more affordable iPhone option.

A second followed last year, and is available new from £399. The original version of the SE continues to be available to businesses and public sector buyers through Apple’s community of authorised resellers, such as Jigsaw24.

The deal was awarded to the Nottingham-headquartered firm via the second lot of the £6.5bn Technology Products and Associated Services framework.