The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/364) is an English emergency statutory instrument which replaced the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 from 29 March 2021. Initially, all of England was subject to Step 1 restrictions. Step 2 applied from 12 April 2021 and Step 3 from 17 May 2021. The regulations were originally set to expire on 30 June 2021, but that was later extended to the end of 18 July 2021. They were revoked on the latter date.
Context and earlier regulations A stepped approach to relaxation of pandemic-related restrictions in England was set out by the Cabinet Office in a document referred to as a "roadmap", published on 22 February 2021. These regulations partially enacted those intentions, and replaced almost all of the existing Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 which had been in force since 2 December 2020.
Legal basis The regulations were made on 22 March 2021 by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, using emergency powers under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, the stated legal basis being "the serious and imminent threat to public health which is posed by the incidence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in England". Hancock used section 45R of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 to enact the regulations without prior parliamentary consideration, subject to retrospective approval by resolution of each House of Parliament within twenty-eight days. The regulations entered into force on 29 March 2021.
Step restrictions The scheme of the regulations was to define three levels of personal and business restrictions, called "Steps". Step 1 was the most restrictive and Step 3 the least. Although the regulations were drafted so that different areas of England could be at different Step levels simultaneously, in the event all areas of England were placed into the same level and were moved as a bloc from Step 1 to Step 2 to Step 3.
Step levels by date
General restrictions on gatherings In all Step areas, gatherings were restricted by size, and unless one of the exceptions applied the only permitted gatherings were those shown in the table. Children were included in the counts, though certain exceptions – see below – allowed for larger gatherings with young children.
* See also the first two exceptions in the table below. These allowed, alternatively, any number of people from one or two households.
Exceptions to the restrictions on gatherings Certain larger gatherings were permitted if one of the following exceptions applied. The list was exhaustive, in the sense that no other reasons could be used to justify contravening the general restrictions on gatherings. In some cases the exception applied only where it was 'reasonably necessary', in other words where the purpose of the gathering could not reasonably be achieved in some other way. Except where stated, the exceptions applied to both indoor and outdoor gatherings.
* "N/A" means that no exception was necessary since the activity was normally permitted under the general restrictions on gatherings for that particular Step.
Qualifying groups Some of the exceptions allowed individuals to attend a larger-than-normal gathering provided that they did so either alone or as part of a smaller 'qualifying group', the definition depending on the Step as in the table below. During the gathering, the person could not move between qualifying groups, nor mingle with anyone outside their group.
Linked households The concept of "linked households" (referred to in government statements as "support bubbles") was brought forward from previous regulations. Two households that were linked under these regulations could generally meet as if they were one household. First and second households could link if all the adults in both households agreed. The first household had to comprise:
A single adult Any number of children and no adults One adult and any number of children who were under the age of 18 on 12 June 2020 Any number of adults and a child who was under the age of one on 2 December 2020 Any number of adults and a child with a disability that required continuous care, and who was under the age of five on 2 December 2020 One or more persons with a disability that required continuous care, on their own or together with any number of individuals who did not have such a disability (but only one of the non-disabled individuals could be aged 18 or over on 12 June 2020). There were no limits on the second household, which could include any number of adults and children. A household could be linked with only one other household at a time. Linked households could be changed, if all agree, subject to a minimum 10 day waiting period counted from the last date on which any member of the newly linked households participated in a gathering that was allowed only by virtue of a previous household link.
Linked childcare households The concept of "linked childcare households" was also brought forward from previous regulations. It was separate from "linked households". A household with at least one child aged 13 or under could link with another household who will be providing informal childcare (formal childcare, for example by a childminder, was excluded). Only one linked childcare household was permitted at any one time, and all adults in both households had to agree. Linked childcare households could be changed, if all agreed, subject to a minimum 10 day waiting period counted from the last date on which any member of the newly linked households participated in a gathering that was allowed only by virtue of a previous childcare household link.
Organising illegal large gatherings It was an offence punishable by a fine or a fixed penalty of £10,000 to hold (or be involved in the holding of) an unlawful gathering:
indoors: of more than 30 people at a private dwelling, or in a vessel; or outdoors: of more than 50 people in a public place, at a private dwelling, or on a vessel. The offence did not extend to someone whose only involvement was to attend; that was subject to a lesser penalty the amount of which depended on the size of the gathering and its location.
Step 1 business restrictions
Business closures Unless an exception applied, the following businesses had to close in Step 1 areas:
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
