The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 11) Regulations 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Part 2A of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 enables the Welsh Ministers, by regulations, to make provision for the purpose of preventing, protecting against, controlling or providing a public health response to the incidence or spread of infection or contamination in Wales.

These Regulations are made in response to the serious and imminent threat to public health which is posed by the incidence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wales.

These Regulations amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1609 (W. 335)) (“the principal Regulations”).

The Regulations provide that the whole of Wales moves from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 1 from 6.00 a.m. on 7 June 2021. This means that the restrictions and requirements in Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations take effect.

The Regulations also amend Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations to—

• limit gatherings indoors in private dwellings to only members of one household or extended household. Extended households can comprise of up to three households and one well-being needs household;

• provide that up to 30 people can gather at any outdoor premises, including outdoors in private gardens and regulated premises;

• provide that no more than 30 people can attend an indoor celebration of a marriage, formation of a civil partnership or alternative wedding ceremony, or an indoor celebration of the life of a deceased person;

• provide that no more than 30 people can attend an indoor regulated gathering;

• provide that a person at a regulated event held outdoors can participate in a gathering consisting of more than 30 people;

• provide that no person may, without a reasonable excuse, organise an event unless it is regulated, held outdoors, and at which no more than 10,000 (where every person attending is normally seated) or 4,000 (for other events) people attend at any time. There are limited exceptions which continue to allow, for example, weddings, funerals, celebrations of marriages etc., small regulated gatherings, and events in private dwellings (in each case, whether or not they take place indoors). Equivalent changes are also made to the relevant paragraphs of Schedules 2 to 4, but with lower numbers of permitted attendees;

• require ice skating rinks to remain closed.

The Regulations also clarify the effect of an amendment made by S.I. 2021/583 (W. 160) to the rules on service of food and drink in licensed cinemas, sports grounds and theatres and make other minor and consequential amendments.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has not been prepared as to the likely cost and benefit of complying with these Regulations.