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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the likelihood that shoppers will undertake their Christmas shopping online rather than on the high street as a result of the requirement to wear face coverings introduced on 30 November 2021.

We’ve put in place a measured and proportionate set of restrictions and we believe we have struck the right balance in introducing measures to wear face coverings in certain settings.

The retail sector remains a key part of the high street and physical retail remains an important route to consumers. The excellent Small Business Saturday, which I was pleased to support, took place on 4 December, and provides a great way to celebrate small and micro businesses across the UK, highlighting their importance to our local communities and helping them get back on their feet as we look ahead to the economic recovery.