Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it is the Government's policy that construction and retail works are not essential workers for the purposes of the Government's response to the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government is committed to supporting people’s jobs and incomes, and we are working with businesses and unions to achieve this.

Retail workers fall within two distinct categories, those who work in non-essential retail such as clothing and electronic stores, and those who work in essential retail such as food, fuel, pharmacy, and post offices. On Monday 23^rd March, the Prime Minister announced further measures to reduce social contact and expanded the list of business closures to include non-essential retail. Retail workers who work in the sale of food are considered key workers.

Construction workers play a crucial role in supporting our public services, maintaining the nation’s infrastructure, and providing safe, decent homes for people to live in. Where construction sector workers cannot work from home, they should still go to work unless they are vulnerable.

However, the Government is clear that construction activity should only continue where it can take place in line with the guidance provided by Public Health England. Through the Construction Leadership Council, the construction industry has issued Site Operating Procedures to set out how this can be done.

The Government has published a list of critical sectors which includes those deemed to be key workers, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision