The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020

Restrictions on gatheringsE+W

This section has no associated Explanatory Memorandum

[F17.—(1) During the emergency period, unless paragraph (2) applies, no person may participate in a gathering which takes place in a public or private place—

(a)outdoors, and consists of more than six persons, or

(b)indoors, and consists of two or more persons.

(2) This paragraph applies where—

(a)all the persons in the gathering are members of the same household [F2or members of two households which are linked households in relation to each other];

(b)the person is attending a funeral, as—

(i)a member of the deceased person’s household,

(ii)a close family member of the deceased person, or

(iii)if no-one within paragraph (i) or (ii) is attending, a friend of the deceased person;

(c)the person concerned is an elite athlete, the coach of an elite athlete, or (in the case of an elite athlete under the age of 18), the parent of an elite athlete, and the gathering is necessary for training or competition;

(d)the gathering is reasonably necessary—

(i)for work purposes, or for the provision of voluntary or charitable services;

(ii)to facilitate a house move;

(iii)to provide care or assistance to a vulnerable person, including relevant personal care within the meaning of paragraph 7(3B) of Schedule 4 to the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Groups Act 2006;

(iv)to provide emergency assistance;

(v)for the purposes of early years childcare provided by a person registered on the Early Years Register under Part 3 of the Childcare Act 2006;

(vi)to enable one or more persons in the gathering to avoid injury or illness or to escape a risk of harm;

(vii)to continue existing arrangements for access to, and contact between, parents and children where the children do not live in the same household as their parents, or one of their parents;

(e)the person concerned is fulfilling a legal obligation or participating in legal proceedings;

(f)the gathering takes place at an educational facility and is reasonably necessary for the purposes of education.

[F3(g)the person concerned is attending a person giving birth (“M”), at M’s request;

(h)the person concerned (“P”) is visiting a person P reasonably believes is dying (“D”), and P is—

(i)a member of D’s household,

(ii)a close family member of D,

(iii)a friend of D, or

(iv)where no-one falling within paragraphs (i) to (iii) is visiting D, any other person;

(i)the person concerned (“P”) is visiting a person (“V”) receiving treatment in a hospital or staying in a hospice or care home, or is accompanying 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,

and for these purposes, “care home” has the meaning given in section 3 of the Care Standards Act 2000.]

(3) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a)there is a gathering when two or more people are present together in the same place in order to engage in any form of social interaction with each other, or to undertake any other activity with each other;

(b)a place is indoors if it would be considered to be enclosed or substantially enclosed for the purposes of section 2 of the Health Act 2006, under the Smoke Free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006.]

Textual Amendments