Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted under Schedule 22 of the Coronavirus Act 2020; and if he will make a statement.

The Ministry of Justice has published information on prosecutions under the Coronavirus Act 2020, in England and Wales, up to December 2020, in the ‘Principal Offence Proceedings and Outcomes by Home Office Offence Code’ data tool, available here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987731/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2020.xlsx

In order to isolate defendants prosecuted under Schedule 22 of the Act, use the ‘Offence Code’ filter in the above data tool to select the following offence:

• 168/61 - Offences in relation to events and gatherings (coronavirus)

The number of individuals prosecuted will populate Row 32.