The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place and on Public Transport) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

This Statutory Instrument has been printed partially to correct errors in S.I. 2020/592, S.I. 2020/791 and S.I. 2020/882 and is being issued free of charge to all known recipients of those Statutory Instruments.

Statutory Instruments

2020 No. 1021

Public Health, England

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place and on Public Transport) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

Approved by both Houses of Parliament

Made

at 9.48 a.m. on 22nd September 2020

Laid before Parliament

at 4.00 p.m. on 22nd September 2020

Coming into force

23rd September 2020

The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 45C(1), (3)(c), (4)(d), 45F(2) and 45P of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984(1).

These Regulations are made in response to 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.

The Secretary of State considers that the requirements and restrictions imposed by the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings on Public Transport) (England) Regulations 2020(2) and the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020(3), as amended by these Regulations, are proportionate to what they seek to achieve, which is a public health response to that threat.

In accordance with section 45R of that Act the Secretary of State is of the opinion that, by reason of urgency, it is necessary to make this instrument without a draft having been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place and on Public Transport) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 and come into force on 23rd September 2020.

Amendment of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings on Public Transport) (England) Regulations 2020

2.—(1) The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings on Public Transport) (England) Regulations 2020 are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 2—

(a) omit paragraph (2)(b);

(b) in paragraph (3), omit the definition of “taxi or private hire vehicle service”.

(3) In regulation 3—

(a) in paragraph (2), in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b), after “public transport service is”, insert “being”;

(b) in paragraph (4), in the definition of “relevant official”, in sub-paragraph (d), for “the Schedule 20” substitute “Schedule 20”.

Amendment of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020

3.—(1) The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020(4) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 2(5), for “(Premises and Enforcement Regulations” substitute “(Premises and Enforcement) Regulations”.

(3) In regulation 3(1), omit sub-paragraphs (i) to (n).

(4) In regulation 3(2)(c), for “person responsible for a relevant place” substitute “person responsible for the relevant place”.

(5) In regulation 3(2)(h), after “duties”, insert—

“;

(i) to an elite sportsperson undertaking training or taking part in a competition;

(j) to a coach of an elite sportsperson acting in the course of their employment or in the course of providing their services;

(k) to a referee acting in the course of their employment or in the course of providing their services;

(l) to a professional dancer undertaking training or taking part in a competition;

(m) to a professional choreographer acting in the course of their employment or in the course of providing their services;

(n) to a pupil at a religious school who is under the age of 19 and is undertaking education or training in a place of worship where such education or training forms part of the curriculum of the religious school”.

(6) In regulation 4(1)(e), before the words “it is”, insert “if”.

(7) In regulation 6(2), for “cause”, substitute “excuse”.

Grant Shapps

Secretary of State

Department for Transport

At 9.48 a.m. on 22nd September 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings on Public Transport) (England) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/592), so that taxis and private hire vehicles are included in the modes of public transport to which the requirement to wear a face covering applies.

Regulation 2(3)(a) clarifies that the requirement to wear a face covering only applies whilst a public transport service is being provided.

Regulations 2(3)(b) and 3 correct errors in those Regulations and the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020.

No impact assessment has been prepared for these Regulations. An Explanatory Memorandum has been prepared and is available alongside this instrument on the UK Legislation website www.legislation.gov.uk.

(1)

1984 c. 22. Part 2A was inserted by section 129 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (c. 14).

(2)

S.I. 2020/592, as amended by S.I. 2020/906.

(3)

S.I. 2020/791, as amended by S.I. 2020/839, 2020/882 and 2020/906.

(4)

Regulation 2(5) was substituted by S.I. 2020/882. Regulation 3(1) was amended by regulation 6 of S.I. 2020/882 which inserted new sub-paragraphs (i) to (n) into regulation 3(1) instead of regulation 3(2).