Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the two-monthly report on the status of the provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020 published on 28 January 2021, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of maintaining powers under (a) s 52 and (b) Schedule 22 of the Coronavirus Act 2020.

As part of the one-year review of the Act, the Government has conducted a thorough review of the non-devolved provisions to check they are necessary and proportionate and has considered whether there is a robust justification for keeping those powers we propose to retain.

Section 52 and Schedule 22 confer powers to issue directions in relation to events, gatherings and premises. These will be important powers to maintain when the current lockdown regulations expire as they will continue to provide the mechanism for a targeted approach to potential local outbreaks.