Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice his Department is giving to local authorities on enforcing mask wearing on public transport.

Local authorities do not have an enforcing role when it comes to the wearing of face coverings by members of the public on public transport. This is a matter for the police and Transport for London officers, who may issue fixed penalty notices but will adopt their usual ‘four Es’ approach first: Explain, Engage, Encourage and Enforce.