Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the scientific basis is for the decision to require face masks to be worn in places of worship.

Places of worship play an important role in providing spiritual leadership for many individuals, and in bringing communities and generations together. However, their communal nature also makes them places that are particularly vulnerable to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

• UK advice on face covering follows advice from SAGE.
• SAGE advised that using cloth masks as a precautionary measure could be at least partially effective in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not always possible, creating a risk of close social contact with multiple parties the person does not usually meet.
• This advice does not replace or change existing advice on other measures – such as hand washing, social distancing and self-isolation – which remain more important (because of stronger evidence and larger effects).
• The Government is committed to following the evidence and will keep reviewing evidence from around the world and update our position as and when needed.

Guidance around using places of worship safely during the pandemic can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-during-the-pandemic-from-4-july/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-during-the-pandemic-from-4-july