Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason the Government made the decision to close specialist shops classified as non-essential retail and allow mixed retailers deemed essential to continue to sell the same non-essential retail items during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown; and what assessment his Department has made of the equity of that decision.

Throughout the national restrictions, we sought to keep as much of the retail sector open as possible, whilst balancing the need to reduce our day-to-day contact. All shops could continue offering?click and collect?and delivery services.

The decision to close non-essential retail was part of a wider package of measures to ensure that people stayed at home except for a limited set of exemptions.

We were clear that a business selling a significant amount of essential retail may also continue to sell goods typically sold at non-essential retail. For example, a supermarket that sells food was not required to close off or cordon off aisles selling homeware.