Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the extent of movement of people between covid-19 local restriction tiers before Christmas 2020; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the powers the police have in order to respond to that matter.

On 2 December, national restrictions were lifted across all of England with the country returning to a regional tiered approach. On 20 December, the Government amended the tiered system to include a fourth tier to be applied in areas where cases were rising the most rapidly.

The Government guidance stipulated that when travelling between tiers, individuals must adhere to either the restrictions in the area where they live or the restrictions in the area they were travelling to, whichever was more stringent. Guidance also stated that people should not enter tier 3 or tier 4 areas unless they had a reasonable excuse to do so (such as to go to work or school or receive medical treatment). Those individuals living in tier 4 areas were advised to stay local and avoid travelling between tiers unless necessary.

The Government moved quickly to ensure the police had the powers and guidance needed to support compliance with the tiered restrictions. The police had the power to direct people who were unlawfully breaching regulations to return home, and to issue fines to those who failed to comply.