Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance the Home Office has given to immigration control officials at airports, regarding the need to identify any persons entering the United Kingdom from overseas, as to whether they are infected by coronavirus.

Schedule 21 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 confers a power on immigration officers to direct or remove a person who they reasonably suspect may be infectious with coronavirus to a suitable place for screening and assessment by a public health officer. These powers may be exercised following prior consultation with a public health officer, where practicable, and with regard to the relevant guidance.

We are currently working with the relevant public health authorities to develop guidance for the use of these powers.