The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Bolton) Regulations 2020

Restrictions on other gatherings

7.—(1) During the emergency period, unless paragraph (3) applies, no person may participate in a gathering in the protected area which consists of more than six persons, and takes place—

(a) on a vessel, other than a houseboat or a vessel used for public transport, or

(b) on land which satisfies the condition in paragraph (2).

(2) Land satisfies this condition if it is a public outdoor place, which is not—

(a) operated by a business, a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution or a public body as a visitor attraction, or

(b) part of premises used for the operation of a business, charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution or a public body.

(3) This paragraph applies where—

(a) all the persons in the gathering are members of the same household or members of two households which are linked households in relation to each other;

(b) the gathering has been organised by a business, a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution, a public body, or a political body, and—

(i) the person responsible for organising the gathering (“the gathering organiser”) has carried out a risk assessment which would satisfy the requirements of regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999(1), whether or not the gathering organiser is subject to those Regulations, and

(ii) the gathering organiser has taken all reasonable measures to limit the risk of transmission of the coronavirus, taking into account the risk assessment carried out under paragraph (i);

(c) the person concerned is an elite sportsperson, the coach of an elite sportsperson, or (in the case of an elite sportsperson who is a child) the parent of an elite sportsperson, and the gathering is necessary for training or competition;

(d) the gathering is reasonably necessary—

(i) for work purposes, or for the provision of voluntary or charitable services,

(ii) for the purposes of education or training,

(iii) for the purposes of childcare provided by a person registered under Part 3 of the Childcare Act 2006(2),

(iv) to provide emergency assistance, or

(v) to enable one or more persons in the gathering to avoid injury or illness or to escape a risk of harm; or

(e) the person concerned is fulfilling a legal obligation.

(4) During the emergency period, no person may participate in a gathering in the protected area which—

(a) consists of more than six persons,

(b) takes place indoors, and

(c) would be a gathering of a kind mentioned in section 63(1) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994(3) if it took place on land in the open air.

(5) In determining whether all reasonable measures have been taken to limit the risk of transmission of the coronavirus for the purposes of paragraph (3)(b)(ii), any guidance issued by the government relevant to the gathering in question must be taken into account.

(6) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a) a “charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution” means—

(i) a charity, or

(ii) an institution, other than a charity, established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes;

(b) “gathering” has same meaning as in regulation 5, and a gathering is in the protected area if any part of the place where it takes place is in the protected area;

(c) a place is indoors if it would be considered to be enclosed or substantially enclosed for the purposes of section 2 of the Health Act 2006(4), under the Smoke-free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006(5);

(d) “political body” means—

(i) a political party registered under Part 2 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000(6), or

(ii) a political campaigning organisation within the meaning of regulation 2 of the Health and Social Care (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2009(7);

(e) “vessel” means any ship, boat, barge, lighter or raft and any other description of craft, whether used in navigation or not, but does not include government vessels.

(1)

S.I. 1999/3242, amended by S.I. 2005/1541; 2015/21; 2015/1637.

(2)

2006 c. 21.

(3)

1994 (c. 33). Section 63(1) has been amended by s. 58 of, and Schedule 3 to the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (c. 38).

(4)

2006 c. 28. Section 2 was amended by paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 (2017 anaw 2).

(5)

S.I. 2006/3368, to which there are amendments which are not relevant to these Regulations.

(6)

2000 c. 41.

(7)

S.I. 2009/649.