Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 55054, what indicators his Department plans to use to determine whether to lift covid-19 lockdown restrictions on marriages.

As set out in ‘Our Plan to Rebuild’, any adjustments to current social distancing controls for England will be timed carefully according to both the current transmission rate of the virus and the Government’s ability to ensure safety. The steps for modifying social distancing measures are set out in the plan, with strict conditions to safely move from each step to the next.

In the strategy, we committed to exploring how to enable people to gather in slightly larger groups to better facilitate small weddings. We are actively looking at how we can facilitate small weddings, as soon as possible, to deliver the roadmap.

Step Three of the plan also includes the ambition to open at least some places of worship, including the potential for some small wedding ceremonies. The Government’s current planning assumption is that this step will be no earlier than 4 July, subject to the five tests for easing measures and further detailed scientific advice provided closer to the time, on how far we can go.