Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the transmission rate of covid-19 in socially-distanced (a) visits in household gardens and (b) indoor hospitality venues.

The rule of six has been put in place to keep social interactions as safe as possible with a simple and easily understood message. Going into winter, when more people will be socialising indoors or may start socialising outdoors and then move indoors, it is essential to have clear and well-understood rules, in order to prevent the spread of the virus. Venues like pubs, restaurants and other leisure settings like cinemas must follow COVID-19 Secure guidelines, including making sure there is adequate social distancing. Businesses are making significant efforts to ensure their workspaces are COVID-19 Secure and only then bring back employees. With these measures in place, employees should remain safe.