PART 2Restrictions on movement
Restrictions on leaving home
5.—(1) No person may leave or be outside of the place where they are living without reasonable excuse.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)—
(a)the circumstances in which a person has a reasonable excuse include where one of the exceptions set out in regulation 6 applies;
(b)the place where a person is living includes the premises where they live together with any garden, yard, passage, stair, garage, outhouse or other appurtenance of such premises.
(3) This regulation does not apply to any person who is homeless.
Exceptions: leaving home
6.—(1) These are the exceptions referred to in regulation 5.
Exception 1: leaving home necessary for certain purposes
(2) Exception 1 is that it is reasonably necessary for the person concerned (“P”) to leave or be outside the place where P is living (“P’s home”)—
(a)to buy goods or obtain services from any business or service listed in Part 3 of the Schedule, for—
(i)P or for those in the same household,
(ii)vulnerable persons, or
(iii)persons in the same household as a vulnerable person;
(b)to obtain money from or deposit money with any business listed in paragraph 43 or 44 of the Schedule;
(c)to take exercise outside—
(i)alone,
(ii)with—
(aa)one or more members of their household, their linked household, or
(bb)where exercise is being taken as part of providing informal childcare for a child aged 13 or under, one or more members of their linked childcare household, or
(iii)in a public outdoor place, with one other person who is not a member of their household, their linked household or their linked childcare household,
and paragraph (3) applies in determining whether a person is complying with the limits in this sub-paragraph;
(d)to visit a public outdoor place for the purposes of open air recreation—
(i)alone,
(ii)with—
(aa)one or more members of their household, their linked household, or
(bb)where exercise is being taken as part of providing informal childcare for a child aged 13 or under, one or more members of their linked childcare household, or
(iii)with one other person who is not a member of their household or their linked household,
and paragraph (3) applies in determining whether a person is complying with the limits in this sub-paragraph;
(e)to attend a place of worship;
(f)to attend an event commemorating Remembrance Sunday or to attend the gathering referred in regulation 11(18)(a)(ii);
(g)to undertake any of the following activities in connection with the purchase, sale, letting or rental of a residential property—
(i)visiting estate or letting agents, developer sales offices or show homes;
(ii)viewing residential properties to look for a property to buy or to rent;
(iii)preparing a residential property to move in;
(iv)moving house;
(v)visiting a residential property to undertake any activities required for the rental or sale of that property;
(h)to visit a member of a household which is a linked household in relation to P’s household;
(i)to collect food, drink or other goods which have been ordered from a business, or to access goods or services which are provided, in any way permitted by regulation 17 or 18;
(j)to visit a waste disposal or recycling centre.
(3) For the purposes of determining whether a person is complying with the limits in—
(a)paragraph (2)(c)(ii) and (d)(ii), no account is to be taken of any person who is present as a carer for a person with a disability who needs continuous care (a “carer”),
(b)paragraph (2)(c)(iii) and (d)(iii), no account is to be taken of a carer or a child below the age of five,
provided that, in either case, there are no more than two people present in the capacity of carer.
Exception 2: work, voluntary services, education and training etc
(4) Exception 2 is that it is reasonably necessary for P to leave or be outside P’s home—
(a)for the purposes of work or to provide voluntary or charitable services, where it is not reasonably possible for P to work, or to provide those services, from home;
(b)for the purposes of education or training;
(c)to provide care or assistance, including relevant personal care within the meaning of paragraph 7(3B) of Schedule 4 to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006(1), to a vulnerable person;
(d)to provide emergency assistance to any person;
(e)to fulfil a legal obligation, including attending court or satisfying bail conditions, or to participate in legal proceedings;
(f)to access critical public services, including—
(i)social services;
(ii)services provided by the Department for Work and Pensions;
(iii)services provided to victims (including victims of crime);
(iv)asylum and immigration services and interviews;
(g)to access services provided by voluntary or charitable services, including food banks.
Exception 3: elite athletes
(5) Exception 3 is that P is an elite sportsperson, a coach of an elite sportsperson, or (in the case of an elite sportsperson who is under the age of 18), a parent of the elite sportsperson, and it is reasonably necessary for P to leave or be outside P’s home for the purposes of training or competition.
Exception 4: medical need etc
(6) Exception 4 is that it is reasonably necessary for P to leave or be outside P’s home—
(a)to seek medical assistance, including to take any medical tests, be vaccinated or access any of the services referred to in paragraph 47 of the Schedule;
(b)to donate blood or attend medical trials;
(c)to avoid injury or illness or to escape a risk of harm;
(d)to attend a person giving birth (“M”) at M’s request;
(e)to visit a person (“V”) receiving treatment in a hospital or staying in a hospice or care home, or to accompany V to a medical appointment and P is—
(i)a member of V’s household,
(ii)a close family member of V, or
(iii)a friend of V.
Exception 5: Support and respite
(7) Exception 5 is that it is reasonably necessary for P to leave or be outside P’s home—
(a)to attend a meeting of a support group which is permitted to meet under regulation 11(6);
(b)for the following purposes—
(i)respite care being provided for a vulnerable person or a person with a disability, or
(ii)a short break being provided in respect of a looked after child (within the meaning of section 22 of the Children Act 1989(2)).
Exception 6: Death bed visit
(8) Exception 6 is that it is reasonably necessary for P to leave or be outside P’s home to visit a person (“D”) whom P reasonably believes is dying, and P is—
(a)a member of D’s household,
(b)a close family member of D, or
(c)a friend of D.
Exception 7: funerals etc
(9) Exception 7 is that it is reasonably necessary for P to leave or be outside P’s home—
(a)to attend a funeral,
(b)to attend a commemorative event celebrating the life of a person who has died, or
(c)to visit a burial ground or garden of remembrance, to pay respects to a member of P’s household, a family member or friend.
Exception 8: marriages and civil partnerships
(10) Exception 8 is that it is reasonably necessary for P to leave or be outside P’s home to attend a marriage ceremony, a civil partnership ceremony or an alternative wedding ceremony permitted under regulation 11(11).
(11) For the purposes of this exception an “alternative wedding ceremony” is a ceremony based on a person’s faith or belief or lack of belief, to mark the union of two people, other than a ceremony conducted for a purpose mentioned in regulation 11(11)(a)(i) or (ii).
Exception 9: children
(12) Exception 9 is that it is reasonably necessary for P to leave or be outside P’s home—
(a)for the purposes of arrangements for access to, and contact between, parents and a child where the child does not live in the same household as their parents or one of their parents;
(b)for the purposes of arrangements for contact between siblings where they do not live in the same household and one or more of them is—
(i)a child looked after by a local authority, within the meaning of section 22 of the Children Act 1989, or
(ii)a relevant child, within the meaning of section 23A(3) of that Act;
(c)for the purposes of arrangements for prospective adopters (including their household) to meet a child or children who may be placed with the prospective adopters as provided for by an adoption placement plan drawn up in accordance with the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005(4) (see regulation 35(2) of those Regulations);
(d)to access educational facilities, or to accompany a child to those facilities where P is the parent or has parental responsibility for, or care of, the child in question;
(e)subject to paragraph (13), for the purposes of—
(i)childcare provided by a person registered under Part 3 of the Childcare Act 2006(5);
(ii)supervised activities for children;
(f)for the purposes of informal childcare, for children aged 13 or under, provided by a member of a household to a member of their linked childcare household (see regulation 13).
(13) Paragraph (12)(e) only applies where the childcare is reasonably necessary to enable a parent, or a person who has parental responsibility for, or care of, the child in question, to work, search for work or to undertake training or education.
Exception 10: Animal welfare
(14) Exception 10 is that it is reasonably necessary for P to leave or be outside P’s home—
(a)to attend veterinary services to seek advice about the health and welfare of a pet or other animal owned or cared for by P, or for the treatment of such a pet or animal;
(b)to attend to the care of or exercise of a pet or other animal owned or cared for by P.
Exception 11: Returning home
(15) Exception 11 is that it is reasonably necessary for P to be outside P’s home to enable P to return home from any place where P was on holiday immediately before these Regulations came into force.
Exception 12: Prison visits
(16) Exception 12 is that it is reasonably necessary for P to leave or be outside P’s home to visit a person (“VP”) living in criminal justice accommodation, where P is—
(a)a close family member of VP, or
(b)a friend of VP.
Exception 13: Other visits
(17) Exception 13 is that it is reasonably necessary for P to leave or be outside P’s home for the purposes of a visit permitted under regulation 11(10).
2006 c. 47. Paragraph 7(3B) was substituted, with sub-paragraphs (1) to (3) and (3A) to (3E), for sub-paragraphs (1) to (3) by section 66 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (c. 9).
Section 23A was inserted by the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 (c. 35).