Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what specific legislative provisions are in use currently to curb the movement outside their own homes by people aged over 70; and whether that legislation is considered as compatible with the Human Rights Act 1998 and has been certified as such by a Minister of the Crown.

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.