Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing communal worship to continue during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown.

With regret, places of worship will be closed for communal prayer. As the rate of infection is rising, we have made the decision to close a broad range of premises, including places of worship. These measures are designed to limit the number of interactions that people have and therefore reduce the risk spread.

Places of worship are permitted to open for individual prayer and for the recording or live streaming of services so that worshippers can participate at home. In addition, funerals are also permitted and can be attended by a maximum of thirty people.

The regulations now in force will expire on 2?December, at which point we hope to be able to ease restrictions.