Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which individuals, in addition to police officers, have been given authority to issue fixed penalty notices for failure to self isolate for COVID-19.

Since 28 September in England, those who test positive for COVID-19 – or who are identified by NHS Test and Trace or local public health teams as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 – have a legal duty to self-isolate. A fixed penalty notice may be issued to a person who contravenes this requirement without reasonable excuse.

Fixed penalty notices can be issued by police constables or police community support officers. Regulations permit fixed penalty notices to be issued by officers designated by local authorities or by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, but there is no current intention for the Secretary of State or local authorities to make any designations for this purpose.