Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his oral contribution of 20 May 2021 Official Report 860, what the latest public health guidance is that he referred to; how that guidance takes into account research conducted by Public Health England in summer 2020 that showed that singing was no more dangerous than shouting or exercising in an enclosed space; whether he has made an assessment of the ability of organisations that run choirs to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their members compared with informal clubs whose activities have resumed under covid-19 restrictions.

I know that the restrictions on singing are frustrating to large numbers of amateur choirs and performance groups across the country and that many people have made sacrifices in order to drive down infections and protect the NHS over the last year. I can assure you that everyone across Government wants to ease these restrictions as soon as possible.

However, it is important that we take a cautious approach in easing restrictions as we wouldn’t want to reverse the progress we are making. There is evidence that singing loudly can increase aerosol and thus increase the risk of coronavirus transmission, particularly indoors. As with any activity, the cumulative effect of aerosol transmission means the more people involved, the higher the risk of transmission.

The Covid context has also changed with the emergence of more transmissible strains. This would include the so-called Alpha variant B.1.1.7 which research suggests may be 70% more transmissible, and now the Delta variant B1.617.2 which looks to be even more transmissible. This means the risks associated with transmission have increased since these studies were undertaken. For these reasons it is important that we take a cautious approach in easing restrictions, so that we can see the impact of this before moving to the next step.

We will continue to keep guidance and restrictions under review, in line with the changing situation. Further detail on step 4 will be set out as soon as possible.