1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021.
(2) These Regulations come into force on 29th March 2021.
(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, and apply—
(a)in England;
(b)in English airspace in relation to aircraft which take off from, or land at, a place in England;
(c)in the English territorial sea in relation to vessels that are not excluded vessels.
(4) In this regulation—
“English airspace” means the airspace above England or above the English territorial sea;
“the English territorial sea” means the part of the territorial sea of the United Kingdom which is adjacent to England;
“excluded vessel” means a vessel which—
departed from a place other than a place in England, and
is to dock in a place other than a place in England.
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“16 to 19 Academy” has the meaning given by section 1B of the Academies Act 2010(1);
“alcohol” has the meaning given by section 191 of the Licensing Act 2003(2);
“campaigning” means undertaking activities for election purposes or for referendum purposes, and “campaigner” means a person who undertakes such activities;
“care home” has the meaning given by section 3 of the Care Standards Act 2000(3);
“charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution” means—
a charity, or
an institution, other than a charity, established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes;
“child” means a person under the age of 18;
“childcare” has the meaning given by section 18 of the Childcare Act 2006(4);
“common travel area” has the meaning given by section 1(3) of the Immigration Act 1971(5);
“coronavirus” means severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2);
“criminal justice accommodation” means—
a prison, within the meaning of the Prison Act 1952(6),
a young offender institution, within the meaning of section 43 of that Act,
a secure training centre, within the meaning of section 43 of that Act,
approved premises, within the meaning of section 13 of the Offender Management Act 2007(7), or
a bail hostel, within the meaning of section 2 of the Bail Act 1976(8);
“Crown interest” means an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown, or belonging to a Government department, or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a Government department, and includes any estate or interest held in right of the Prince and Steward of Scotland;
“Crown land” means land in which there is a Crown interest or a Duchy interest;
“Duchy interest” means an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Duchy of Lancaster, or belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall;
“early years provision” has the meaning given by section 96(2) of the Childcare Act 2006;
“education, health and care plan” means an EHC plan within the meaning of section 37(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014(9);
“educational accommodation” means—
accommodation provided for students whilst they are boarding at school, or
halls of residence provided for students attending higher education courses and equivalent accommodation provided for students attending further education courses or courses at 16 to 19 Academies;
“educational institution” has the meaning given by paragraph 1(11) of Schedule 16 to the Coronavirus Act 2020(10);
“elite sportsperson” means an individual who—
derives a living from competing in a sport,
is a senior representative nominated by a relevant sporting body,
is a member of the senior training squad for a relevant sporting body, or
is on an elite development pathway;
“embarkation point” means an international terminal or any other place in England from which a person may travel to a destination outside the United Kingdom;
“further education” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Education Act 1996(11);
“gathering organiser”, in relation to a gathering, means the person responsible for organising the gathering;
“higher education course” means a course of any description mentioned in Schedule 6 to the Education Reform Act 1988(12) or an equivalent course undertaken outside England and Wales;
“higher education provider” means—
a higher education provider within the meaning of section 83(1) of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017(13), or
a provider of higher education, within the meaning of section 83(1) of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, which is not an institution (within the meaning of that section), whether or not it is designated under section 84 of that Act;
“hostess bar” has the meaning given by paragraph 3B of Schedule 3 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982(14);
“immigration detention accommodation” means—
a removal centre,
a short-term holding facility, or
pre-departure accommodation,
and for these purposes, “removal centre”, “short-term holding facility” and “pre-departure accommodation” have the meanings given in section 147 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999(15);
“informal childcare” has the meaning given by regulation 4(8);
“international terminal” means an aerodrome, maritime port or international rail terminal, and for these purposes, “aerodrome” has the meaning given in Schedule 1 to the Air Navigation Order 2016(16);
“licensed premises” has the meaning given by section 193(1) of the Licensing Act 2003;
“linked childcare household” has the meaning given by regulation 4;
“linked household” has the meaning given by regulation 3;
“manager”, in relation to a gathering, means the person responsible for the management of the premises on which the gathering takes place;
“outdoor sports gathering” means a gathering—
which is organised by a business, a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution or a public body for the purposes of allowing persons who are not elite sportspersons to take part in any sport or other fitness related activity,
which takes place outdoors, and
in respect of which the gathering organiser or manager takes the required precautions;
“parent” of a child includes any person who is not a parent of the child but who has parental responsibility for, or who has care of, the child;
“parental responsibility” has the meaning given by section 3 of the Children Act 1989(17);
“permitted organised gathering” has the meaning given by regulation 5;
“person who has been released on temporary licence” means a person who has been temporarily released from—
a secure children’s home, as defined by section 102(11) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012(18), or
“person responsible” for carrying on a business includes the owner, proprietor and manager of that business;
“political body” means—
“premises licence” has the meaning given by section 11 of the Licensing Act 2003;
“proprietor”, in relation to a school, has the meaning given by section 579(1) of the Education Act 1996(24);
“public outdoor place” is an outdoor place to which the public have, or are permitted, access (whether on payment or otherwise) and includes—
land laid out as a public garden or used for the purpose of recreation by members of the public;
land which is “open country” as defined in section 59(2) of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949(25), as read with section 16 of the Countryside Act 1968(26);
land which is “access land” for the purposes of Part 1 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000(27) (see section 1(1) of that Act)(28);
any highway to which the public has access;
Crown land to which the public has access;
“registered political party” has the meaning given by section 202(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1983(29);
“registered pupil” has the meaning given by section 434(5) of the Education Act 1996;
“relevant outdoor activity” means a physical activity which is carried on outdoors and for which a licence, permit or certificate issued by a public body to carry on the activity, or for any equipment used for the purposes of the activity, must be held by—
the gathering organiser, or
any person taking part in the activity;
“required precautions” means the precautions which a gathering organiser or manager is required to take in relation to a gathering in accordance with regulation 6;
“school” has the meaning given by section 4 of the Education Act 1996(30);
“sexual entertainment venue” has the meaning given by paragraph 2A of Schedule 3 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982(31);
“sportsground” means any location in which elite sports training or competition takes place for the purpose of, or for purposes which include the purpose of, entertaining spectators;
“Step 1 area” has the meaning given by regulation 7(4)(b);
“Step 1 restrictions” has the meaning given by regulation 7(4)(a);
“Step 2 area” has the meaning given by regulation 7(4)(d);
“Step 2 restrictions” has the meaning given by regulation 7(4)(c);
“Step 3 area” has the meaning given by regulation 7(4)(f);
“Step 3 restrictions” has the meaning given by regulation 7(4)(e);
“support group” means a group or one to one support which is organised by a business, a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution or a public body to provide mutual aid, therapy or any other form of support to its members or those who attend its meetings, for example those providing support—
to victims of crime (including domestic abuse);
to those with, or recovering from, addictions (including alcohol, narcotics or other substance addictions) or addictive patterns of behaviour;
to new parents;
to those with, or caring for persons with, any long-term illness or terminal condition or who are vulnerable;
to those with a disability, or caring for persons with a disability;
to those facing issues related to their sexuality or identity including those living as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender;
to those who have suffered bereavement;
to vulnerable young persons;
“travel declaration form” means the form referred to in regulation 8(4);
“vessel” means any ship, boat, barge, lighter or raft and any other description of craft, whether used in navigation or not;
“vulnerable person” includes—
any person aged 70 or older;
any person aged under 70 who has an underlying health condition, including (but not limited to) the conditions listed in paragraph (4);
any person who is pregnant.
(2) In the definition of “elite sportsperson”—
(a)“elite development pathway” means a development pathway established by the national governing body of a sport to prepare sportspersons—
(i)so that they may derive a living from competing in that sport, or
(ii)to compete in that sport at the Tokyo or Beijing Olympic or Paralympic Games, at the Paris Olympic or Paralympic Games, or in the Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham;
(b)“relevant sporting body” means the national governing body of a sport which may nominate sportspersons to represent—
(i)Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Tokyo or Beijing Olympic or Paralympic Games, or at the Paris Olympic or Paralympic Games, or
(ii)England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man at the Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham;
(c)“senior representative” means an individual who is considered by a relevant sporting body to be a candidate to qualify to compete on behalf of—
(i)Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Tokyo or Beijing Olympic or Paralympic Games or at the Paris Olympic or Paralympic Games, or
(ii)England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man at the Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham.
(3) In the definition of “relevant outdoor activity”, the reference to a licence does not include a licence to drive a motor vehicle in the United Kingdom or to serve food or alcohol.
(4) The conditions referred to in the definition of “vulnerable person” are—
(a)chronic (long-term) respiratory diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema or bronchitis;
(b)chronic heart disease, such as heart failure;
(c)chronic kidney disease;
(d)chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis;
(e)chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, a learning disability or cerebral palsy;
(f)diabetes;
(g)problems with the spleen, such as sickle cell disease or removal of the spleen;
(h)a weakened immune system as a result of conditions such as HIV and AIDS, or medicines such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy;
(i)being seriously overweight with a body mass index of 40 or above.
(5) For the purposes of these Regulations—
(a)references to a person who has a disability are to a person who has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on that person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities;
(b)references to a “consular post” means a consulate-general, consulate, vice-consulate or consular agency;
(c)activities are undertaken “for election purposes” if they are undertaken—
(i)for the purposes of or in connection with—
(aa)promoting or procuring electoral success for a registered political party, or
(bb)promoting or procuring a candidate’s election, or
(ii)with a view to prejudicing the electoral prospects at an election of a registered political party or candidate;
(d)activities are undertaken “for referendum purposes” if they are undertaken—
(i)for the purposes of or in connection with promoting or procuring a particular outcome in relation to the question asked in a referendum, or
(ii)with a view to prejudicing the prospects of another particular outcome in relation to the question asked in a referendum;
(e)references to a “local authority” include references to a county council;
(f)a county council for an area for which there is also a district council is to be regarded, with respect to its functions under these Regulations, as a relevant health protection authority for the purposes of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984;
(g)a gathering takes place when two or more persons are present together in the same place in order—
(i)to engage in any form of social interaction with each other, or
(ii)to undertake any other activity with each other;
(h)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(32), under the Smoke-free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006(33);
(i)references to a “private dwelling”—
(i)include references to a houseboat and any garden, yard, passage, stair, outhouse or other appurtenance of the dwelling;
(ii)do not, except in regulation 5(2), or as otherwise specified, include references to the following—
(aa)accommodation in a hotel, hostel, campsite, caravan park, members’ club, boarding house or bed and breakfast accommodation;
(bb)care homes;
(cc)children’s homes, within the meaning of section 1 of the Care Standards Act 2000(34);
(dd)residential family centres, within the meaning of section 4 of that Act(35);
(ee)educational accommodation;
(ff)accommodation intended for use by Her Majesty’s armed forces.
(6) For the purposes of paragraph (5)(a), regulations 3 to 5 of the Equality Act 2010 (Disability) Regulations 2010(36) apply in considering whether a person has an impairment.
3.—(1) For the purposes of these Regulations, a “linked household” means a household that is linked with another household in accordance with this regulation.
(2) Where a household (“the first household”) comprises—
(a)one adult,
(b)one or more children and no adults,
(c)one adult and one or more persons who were under the age of 18 on 12th June 2020,
(d)one or more adults and one or more children who are under the age of one or were under that age on 2nd December 2020,
(e)one or more adults and one or more children who have a disability and who require continuous care who are under the age of five, or were under that age on 2nd December 2020, or
(f)one or more persons who have a disability and who require continuous care, on their own or together with—
(i)one individual who does not have a disability, or
(ii)more than one such individual but including no more than one adult who was aged 18 or over on 2nd December 2020,
the individuals in the first household may choose to be linked with one other household (“the second household”).
(3) But paragraph (2) applies only if—
(a)all persons who would be members of the linked households in accordance with this regulation agree (subject to paragraph (7)),
(b)neither the first household nor the second household are linked with any other household for the purposes of these Regulations, and
(c)no members of either the first household or the second household have participated in a gathering in reliance on their household being a linked household with any other household for the purposes of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020(37) in the period of ten days ending on the day before the day on which the first and second households choose to become linked households under paragraph (2).
(4) There is no limit on the number of adults or children who may be in the second household.
(5) The first and second households are “linked households” in relation to each other.
(6) The first and second households cease to be linked households—
(a)if neither household satisfies the condition in paragraph (2), or
(b)at any time when all members of one or both of the households agree to cease to be linked with the other (subject to paragraph (7)).
(7) Where—
(a)a person who would be, or is, a member of a linked household is a child, and
(b)a parent of the child (“P”) is a member of the child’s household,
the agreement required by paragraph (3)(a) or (6)(b) is to be given by P (and not the child).
(8) If a household (household A) ceases to be linked with another household (household B), household A may choose to be linked with another household after the expiry of the minimum period if the conditions in paragraphs (2) and (3)(a) and (b) are met.
(9) For the purposes of paragraph (8) the “minimum period” means the period of 10 days beginning with the day on which any member of household A last participated in a gathering with a member of household B in reliance on being a linked household.
(10) The references in paragraph (3) to neither household being linked with any other household do not include being linked with another household only for the purposes of informal childcare in accordance with regulation 4 or any other regulations made under Part 2A of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984.
4.—(1) For the purposes of these Regulations, a “linked childcare household” means a household that is linked with another household for the purposes of informal childcare in accordance with this regulation.
(2) Where a household includes at least one child aged 13 or under (“the first household”), that household may link with one other household (“the second household”) for the purpose of the second household providing informal childcare to the child aged 13 or under in the first household if—
(a)all the persons who would be members of the linked childcare households in accordance with this regulation agree (subject to paragraph (5)), and
(b)no members of either the first household or the second household have participated in a gathering in reliance on their household being part of a linked childcare household with any other household for the purposes of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 in the period of ten days ending on the day before the day on which the first and second households choose to become linked childcare households under this paragraph.
(3) The first household and the second household are “linked childcare households” in relation to each other.
(4) The first household and the second household cease to be linked childcare households—
(a)if neither household includes a child aged 13 or under, or
(b)at any time when all members of one or both of the households agree to cease to be linked with the other (subject to paragraph (5)).
(5) Where—
(a)a person who would be, or is, a member of a linked childcare household is a child, and
(b)a parent of the child (“P”) is a member of the child’s household,
the agreement required by paragraph (2)(a) or (4)(b) is to be given by P (and not the child).
(6) If a linked childcare household (“household A”) ceases to be linked with another linked childcare household (“household B”), household A may choose to be linked with another household under this regulation after the expiry of the minimum period.
(7) For the purposes of paragraph (6), the “minimum period” means the period of 10 days beginning with the day on which any member of household A last participated in a gathering with a member of household B in reliance on being a linked childcare household.
(8) In these Regulations, “informal childcare” means any form of care for a child aged 13 or under provided by anybody other than a person providing childcare in their role as a person registered to provide childcare under Part 3 of the Childcare Act 2006, including—
(a)education provided for a child aged 13 or under, and
(b)supervised activities for a child aged 13 or under.
5.—(1) A gathering is a permitted organised gathering for the purposes of these Regulations if paragraph (2) or (3) applies.
(2) This paragraph applies to a gathering if it takes place on or at premises, other than a private dwelling, which are—
(a)operated by a business, a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution or a public body, or
(b)part of premises used for the operation of a business, a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution or a public body.
(3) This paragraph applies to a gathering if it takes place in a public outdoor place not falling within paragraph (2) and—
(a)the gathering has been organised by a business, a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution, a public body or a political body, and
(b)the gathering organiser or manager takes the required precautions in relation to the gathering.
6.—(1) The gathering organiser or (as the case may be) the manager in relation to a gathering takes the required precautions for the purposes of these Regulations by meeting both of the following requirements.
(2) The first requirement is that the gathering organiser or manager has carried out a risk assessment that would satisfy the requirements of regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999(38) (whether or not the organiser or manager is subject to those Regulations).
(3) The second requirement is that the gathering organiser or manager has taken all reasonable measures to limit the risk of transmission of coronavirus, taking into account—
(a)the risk assessment carried out under paragraph (2), and
(b)any guidance issued by the government which is relevant to the gathering.
2010 c. 32. Section 1B was inserted by section 53(7) of the Education Act 2011 (c. 21).
2003 c. 17. Section 191 was amended by section 135 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3) and by S.I. 2006/2407.
2000 c. 14. Section 3 was amended by paragraph 4 of Schedule 5 to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (c. 14). There are other amendments to section 3 which are not relevant to this instrument.
2006 c. 21. Section 18 has been amended by the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 (c. 23), Schedule 1, paragraph 19, and Schedule 4; the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (c. 2), Schedule 9, paragraph 21, and S.I. 2010/813.
1976 c. 63. Section 2 was amended by the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (c. 6), Schedule 9, paragraph 50(3)(a). There are other amendments to section 2 which are not relevant to this instrument.
2014 c. 6. Section 37(2) was amended by S.I. 2015/94.
1996 c. 56. Section 2 was amended by s. 177 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Education Act 2002 (c. 32). There are other amendments to s. 2 which are not relevant to this instrument.
1982 c. 30.Paragraph 3B was inserted by s. 33 of the London Local Authorities Act 2007 (c. ii).
1999 c. 33. The definition of “removal centre” was inserted into section 147, by s. 66(1) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (c. 41), and amended by s. 6(2) of Immigration Act 2014 (c. 22); the definition of “short-term holding facility” was amended by s. 25 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 (c. 11), and section 6(2) of the Immigration Act 2014; the definition of “pre-departure accommodation” was inserted by s. 6(2) of the Immigration Act 2014. There are other amendments to section 147 which are not relevant to this instrument.
2012 c. 10. Subsection (11) of s. 192 was substituted by S.I. 2018/195.
S.I. 1998/472, as amended by S.I. 2003/3005, 2016/211 and 2020/664.
S.I 1999/728, as amended by S.I. 2014/2169, S.I. 2018/960, 2020/400 and 2020/508. There are other amending instruments, but none is relevant.
S.I. 2000/3371, as amended by S.I. 2014/2169, 2018/960, 2020/400 and 2020/508.
S.I. 2009/649. There are amendments to regulation 2 not relevant to this instrument.
The definition of “proprietor” in section 579(1) of the Education Act 1996 has been amended by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (c. 31), Schedule 30, paragraph 183, by the Education Act 2011 (c. 21), Schedule 13, paragraph 9, and by S.I. 2003/2045 and 2005/2913.
1968 c. 41. Section 16 has been amended by section 111 of the Transport Act 1968 (c. 73), Schedule 27 to the Water Act 1989 (c. 15) and S.I. 2012/1659. There are other amendments to section 16 which are not relevant to this instrument.
The definition of “access land” has been amended by section 303(2) of, and Part 7 of Schedule 22 to, the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (c. 23).
1983 c. 2. The definition of “registered political party” was inserted by paragraph 38 of Schedule 3 to the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (c. 29), and amended by paragraph 6 of Schedule 21 to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41).
1996 c. 56. The definition of “school” in section 4 has been amended by section 51 of the Education Act 1997 (c. 44), Part 3 of Schedule 22 to the Education Act 2002 (c. 32), section 95 of the Childcare Act 2006 (c. 21), paragraph 9 of Schedule 13 to the Education Act 2011 (c. 21) and S.I. 2019/1027.
1982 c. 30. Paragraph 2A was inserted by section 27 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (c. 26).
2006 c. 28. Section 2 was amended by paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 (2017 anaw 2).
S.I. 2006/3368, to which there are amendments which are not relevant to these Regulations.
2000 c. 14. Section 1 was amended by paragraph 2 of Schedule 5 to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (c. 14) and by paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 to the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (2016 anaw 2) (“the 2016 Act”).
The definition of “residential family centre” was amended by paragraph 4 of Schedule 5 to the 2016 Act.
S.I. 2020/1374, amended by S.I. 2020/1518, 1533, 1572, 1611, 1646 and 1654, and S.I. 2021/8, 53, 97 and 247.
S.I. 1999/3242. Regulation 3 has been amended by S.I. 2003/2457, S.I. 2005/1541 and S.I. 2015/21 and 1637|. There are other amendments to regulation 3 which are not relevant to this instrument.