Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will (a) provide a briefing to hon. Members on its public health communications strategy for covid-19 and (b) deploy its behavioural insights team to help reduce the (i) risk of infection and (ii) transmission of that virus society through (A) self-isolation, (B) reduced travel activity and (C) encouraging the support of the public for behavioural changes to reduce the risk of infection.

Officials will be happy to provide a briefing on the communications strategy and the public health campaign to hon. Members. Both the strategy and the campaign have been guided by behavioural science and we have been working closely with behavioural scientists to reduce the risk of infection and slow the transmission. We are not yet advising people to reduce travel activity or self-isolate unless they have returned from an affected country. If we do, we will be guided by behavioural science.