Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to ensure that people who are fearful of covid19 infection risks are able to protect themselves by insisting others wear face coverings and socially distance as infection levels rise.

While we have no plans to ensure that people can insist that others wear face coverings, we will continue to provide guidance on when the public should consider wearing one.

On 5 July, the Government set out plans for step four of the roadmap in England, to enable the public to make informed decisions through guidance rather than laws, enabling personal risk-based judgements.