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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made on the creation of the Events Research Programme, as set out in the Government’s COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021 roadmap published on 22nd February; what the timeframe is for the publication for the programme’s conclusions; what factors are being assessed for the reopening of that sector; if he will announce the role of the business events industry within the programme; and if he will make a statement.

The Events Research Programme aims to examine the risk of transmission of COVID-19 from attendance at events and explore ways to enable people to attend a range of events safely. We anticipate that the research pilots will take place in April, with a view to reporting findings to my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at the end of May, to feed into wider discussions around Step 4 of the lockdown restrictions. Departments are currently working up plans and further details regarding the Events Research Programme will be published in due course.