Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing people to travel overseas to care for relatives during the covid-19 pandemic.

Currently everyone leaving the country who is not exempt from the stay in the United Kingdom requirement needs to have a reasonable excuse for travel. However, the regulations include an express reasonable excuse for travelling abroad where it is reasonably necessary to provide care and assistance to a vulnerable person. This includes if the person is 70 years old or over, pregnant or has an underlying health condition.