Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what powers the police have to enforce the wearing of face coverings in shops during the covid-19 outbreak; and whether the police may require people to produce documentation to prove a medical exemption from the requirements to wear face coverings.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020, as amended, requires members of the public to wear a face covering in relevant indoor public settings unless an exemption applies, or the individual has a reasonable excuse.

The police have the power to enforce the requirement to wear a face covering including directing the individual to wear a face covering, directing the individual to leave the relevant place, and issuing a fixed penalty notice of £200 (reducing to £100 if paid within 14 days) doubling upon each repeat offence up to a maximum of £6,400.

Police officers receive guidance on the law and that they should use their discretion at all times. As they have done throughout the pandemic, the police apply a four-step escalation method - engaging, explaining and encouraging compliance before moving to take enforcement action.