Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his current policy is on the wearing of face coverings in his (a) Department, (b) departmental agencies and (c) related bodies during the covid-19 outbreak.

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the Department has followed, and continues to follow, the latest Government guidance in relation to managing the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace, including any variations between the four nations of the UK.

In England, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ‘Working Safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)’ guidance provides sensible precautions employers can take to manage risk and support their staff. The guidance is available via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-covid-19/offices-factories-and-labs#offices-7-2.

It is for individual employers to determine which mitigations are appropriate to adopt as they review their workplace risk assessments in light of the updated guidance. Face coverings, which are no longer required by law, are one possible mitigation employers could adopt if the situation warranted it.

The Department fully supports individuals who choose to wear a face covering in the workplace.

Other related bodies to the Department set their own policies on how their staff should work in offices and are not required to report this back centrally.