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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to assess the potential merits of easing covid-19 restrictions on weddings through the use of (a) pilot schemes and (b) further consultation with the UK Weddings Taskforce.

The Government is keen to allow larger wedding receptions and celebrations to take place as soon as it is safe. Weddings by their nature bring families and friends together in a single group for extended periods of time, are highly social, and particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.

Through vaccination and testing we hope to increase the number of attendees when the scientific evidence shows that it is safe to do so.

I am planning to meet with the UK Weddings Taskforce early in the New Year.