Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to produce a timetable for the upward revision of the limit on the size of gatherings, provided such events are organised with safety precautions.

There is a requirement for the Government to review the restrictions set out in the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) Regulations (England) 2020 at least every 28 days, including the restrictions on the size of gatherings, based on the available scientific evidence on whether these measures continue to be needed to control the virus.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care conducts the review in consultation with with other Ministers. Decisions on when to change the limit on the size of gatherings will be informed by expert advice to ensure that the measures continue to be both proportionate and necessary to protect against, control or provide a public health response to the incidence or spread of infection in England.