Update: Wearing of Facemasks

While we are waiting for the Q&A from DCMS on the questions that you have been raising, there are some queries that were answered in the legislation that was published yesterday evening. These include:

Face Masks on Open-Top Buses and on Boats

Section 4 (g) of the legislation provides an exemption from the use of facemasks where a person is in any part of a public transport vehicle which is not indoors.

People in Compartments on Public Transport

Section 4 (h) of the legislation provides an exemption from the use of facemasks where a person is allocated a cabin, berth or other similar accommodation, at any time when they are in that accommodation. So this would include cabins on ferries and could also private cabins on trains.

Dining Carriages

Section 4 (i) of the legislation provides an exemption from the use of facemasks where a person is in an area within a public transport vehicle which is being used wholly or mainly by people eating or drinking, or dancing. So wearing  facemask is exempt in places such as dining carriages and bars/clubs on ferries.

Gift Shops in Cafes

Section 6 (f) states that facemasks do not need to be worn in any “other premises, or part of premises, which are being used wholly or mainly by people eating or drinking.” This means that if an attraction has a café that is combined with a gift shop, then the main purpose of that part of the premises dictates whether facemasks need to be worn. At the moment there is no guidance on how to determine the main purpose of a space that combines these two functions but it would seem reasonable to work on the basis of the floor space allocated to each function.

New Self-Isolation Legislation

The Government has passed new legislation that amends the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020 to say that:

1. where an adult is a close contact of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus and is suspected of, or confirmed as, having an Omicron variant, the exemptions from the duty to self-isolate (for those who are participating in coronavirus related research, fully vaccinated, participating in a clinical vaccine trial, or clinically unable to be vaccinated) do not apply;

• children who are a close contact of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus and is suspected of, or confirmed as, having an Omicron variant must self-isolate.

Basically, this means that the current exemption from self-isolation for people who have been fully vaccinated has been revoked, which will have implications for businesses with regains to staffing.

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Public Guidance on Face Masks

The public guidance on when and where to wear face coverings has been updated. The places where wearing a face covering in mandatory are:

• shops and supermarkets (places which offer goods or services for retail sale or hire)
• shopping centres (malls and indoor markets)
• auction houses
• post offices, banks, building societies, high street solicitors and accountants, credit unions, short-term loan providers, savings clubs and money service businesses
• estate and letting agents
• premises providing personal care and beauty treatments (barbers, hair salons, tattoo and piercing studios, nail salons and massage centres)
• pharmacies
• premises providing veterinary services
• retail galleries (as opposed to art galleries)
• retail travel agents
• takeaways without space for consumption of food or drink on premises
• public transport (aeroplanes, trains, trams, buses, coaches and ferries), taxis and private hire vehicles
• any car or small van during a professionally delivered driving lesson, a practical driving test, or during one of the practical tests for giving driving instruction, and in all HGV lessons and tests
• transport hubs (airports, rail and tram stations and terminals, maritime ports and terminals, bus and coach stations and terminals)

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New Assurance Guidance For Local Authorities

BEIS has published a new version of the Assurance Guidance for Councils which sets out the minimum level of checks that Local Authorities should complete to provide assurance to both themselves and BEIS that they have addressed the risk of error, non-compliance and/or fraud associated with the various grants schemes that they have been responsible for allocating during the pandemic. This includes the Local Restriction Grants, Restart Grants, Additional Restrictions Grants and Lock Down Payments.

It is worth noting that the guidance requires Local Authorities undertake recovery action where assurance checks discover that payments have been made in error, noncompliance, or have been claimed as a result of fraud, and that Local Authority must retain all documentary evidence for a minimum of 10 years from the date of award of grant to evidence the award of grant and the assurance checks completed. To ensure that all efforts are made to recover misallocated funds, BEIS will undertake a sample review of a Local Authority Pre- and Post-Payment Assurance System on each grant scheme.

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