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 comparative risk to public health of (a) a wedding reception for a maximum of 30 people in compliance with rules on social distancing and (b) a birthday party with the same constraints ; and if he will make a statement.

We know how important some life cycle ceremonies are to some people – they are generally one-off events, whereas people have a birthday every year. Life cycle events can take place in groups of up to 30 people, but they must happen in COVID-19 secure venues or public outdoor spaces. Other celebrations, such as birthdays, must not involve groups of more than six. We need to limit the number of celebratory events taking place in order to curb transmission of the virus so it is important that we safeguard the events that are most important to people.