Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of wearing (a) face masks and (b) other personal protective equipment to reduce the transmission of covid-19 on public transport.

Keeping transport workers and passengers safe is of paramount importance, and we are working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care at Ministerial and official level to ensure that we continue to take an evidence-based approach to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

The UK continues to be led by the evidence on the use of face masks by the general population and is in alignment with the World Health Organization who do not currently recommend the wide spread use of face masks in the community. We will of course keep this under review, which includes considering advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).