Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons wet only pubs are required to close in a tier-three covid-19 lockdown while pubs serving food are allowed to remain open.

In areas when the local COVID-19 alert level is very high pubs and bars must close. They can only remain open where they operate as if they were a restaurant, which means serving substantial meals, like a main lunchtime or evening meal. They may only serve alcohol as part of such a meal.

There are higher environmental risks in hospitality settings when compared with other indoor settings. This is due to the close proximity of other people, relatively long periods of time spent on a visit, and loud atmospheres leading to louder talking and shouting and sometimes, poor ventilation. Additionally, the consumption of alcohol can impact on people’s behaviour and make it less likely that they comply with social distancing measures.

By limiting the amount of time people spend in hospitality we reduce the risks. And by ensuring that people are eating and are not attending a venue solely to drink alcohol we reduce the risks posed by falling inhibitions and failure to comply with social distancing measures.