Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the level of covid-19 infection risk from non-mask wearing in the hospitality sector; and what steps he plans to take to manage that risk.

No estimate has been made. However, in deciding whether to mandate the wearing of face coverings in hospitality settings, the Government considered health, economic, societal and practical issues and concluded that it was impractical to require people to remove their face covering in settings primarily used for eating and drinking. To mitigate this risk, we continue to recommend that people wear face coverings in indoor settings, even where not mandated and to receive their primary or booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.