Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the publication of Our plan to rebuild: The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy on 11 May, what discussions they have had with faith leaders about the number of people who will be permitted to gather in places of worship for services and events.

Following publication on 11 May of “Our Plan to Rebuild”, which outlined the steps we would be taking to ease the lockdown restrictions, the Government launched a Places of Worship Taskforce to look at how places of worship can reopen and operate safely.

The Secretary of State and I have held a series of meetings with the Taskforce as well as holding faith-specific roundtables to hear the views of our faith leaders on how our places of worship can reopen. This is to ensure that those who visit and those who work there are protected as far as possible. The Government is working with the Taskforce as we develop guidance for our faith communities on the safe reopening of our places of worship. This will include guidance on individual prayer, and services and ceremonies such as weddings. This will be published in due course.