Covid-19 Update

Shaun Bailey Excerpts

Monday 21st September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The message that the hon. Member should be putting out and that I will set out is that, where we say that people should not socialise outside their household, that is the approach that people should take. He makes a detailed point underneath that, but the top-line message to all of his constituents is, no, they should not be socialising with people outside their household.

[Shaun Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Con)]

I have been contacted by a large number of constituents over the weekend concerned about the fact that a large minority of people in retail settings are still not wearing face coverings. Most retailers are making sure that they follow the rules and they enforce them, but what support can the Department give, across government and at local level, to ensure that when it comes to the small minority, we can enforce these rules and ensure, as the Secretary of State quite rightly said, that we are all in this together and we will stop the spread together.

[Matt Hancock]

I agree with my hon. Friend that more enforcement is, sadly, necessary to ensure that these rules are followed across the board, because if people follow the rules across the board, it will be easier to get a grip on the virus and the overall impact on the economy and on education, for instance, will be lower. So that is the approach that we are taking both in the example he cites and more broadly.