Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to improve public awareness of exemptions to the rules on the wearing of face coverings for deaf people and those who assist people who rely on lip reading to communicate.

Our guidance published online is clear that there are exemptions where people do not need to wear face coverings. We are also clear that people do not need to prove they are exempt and they should not be challenged about this

The Government is running a major proactive communications campaign on face coverings to alert the public where they are now required to wear a face covering, who is exempt from wearing one, and how to wear one correctly. As part of this campaign, we are prioritising the need to communicate who is exempt from wearing one.

We are actively engaging with stakeholders including disability charities to communicate new guidance to their members as well as highlighting this message to the general public on social media and via broadcasting opportunities.