Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the potential role of the police in enforcing social distancing on public transport.

Government departments are working closely with the policing and transport sectors to respond to the threat posed by coronavirus and ensure that essential public services are maintained. We have issued clear guidance on the vital importance of social distancing in keeping us all safe and, whilst we expect the public to play their part by observing this guidance, we are working with the police to ensure they have relevant powers to enforce these measures where necessary.

The police have in place robust contingency arrangements that will allow them to maintain their core functions and critical services, and we are working with national police leads to ensure the sector receives all the support it needs to continue to respond to this emergency.