Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what penalties a police officer can impose on an individual over 70 years old, who has no underlying health conditions and adheres to other government social distancing guidance, who leaves their home to visit family members during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The powers to restrict individual movements are contained in the Health Protection Regulations 2020, under the Public Health Act 1984, which was certified as Human Rights Act compliant by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Rt Hon Matt Hancock.

The penalties for those who do not comply apply to anyone aged 18 and over. If members of the public do not comply with these new measures, then the police response will follow the 4 Es approach – engaging, explaining, encouraging, and then, as a last resort, enforcing, including through issuing fixed penalty notices and dispersing gatherings.