Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what scientific and medical assessments informed their decision to make the wearing of face masks in public faces voluntary.

Before moving to Step 4 of the Roadmap on 19 July, which changed the requirement to wear face coverings in certain settings from mandatory to voluntary, the Government assessed the evidence of progress against four tests:

- The deployment of the vaccine programme;

- The effectiveness of vaccines in reducing hospitalisations and deaths among those vaccinated;

- The level of infection rates in relation to the pressure on the National Health Service; and

- The risks presented by new variants of concern.

The Joint Biosecurity Centre assessed the data and evidence from a variety of sources against these four tests. COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan, which is available in an online only format, set out a ‘plan B’ for England, which includes the reintroduction of the legally mandated wearing of face coverings in certain settings.