The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/684) is a statutory instrument (SI) enacted on 4 July 2020 by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It replaced and relaxed the previous Lockdown Regulations (SI 2020/350), and gave the Secretary of State powers to make declarations restricting access to public outdoor places.
This SI related to England only; there were similar regulations for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Within England, Leicester was initially excluded to its high rate of COVID-19. Subsequent amendments were made to enable more restrictive local rules to be applied in other areas.
The regulations were substantially amended on 14 October 2020 by the First COVID-19 tier regulations, and expired on 4 January 2021.
Context and earlier regulations The first responses by the UK government to the developing COVID-19 pandemic in England took the form of guidance rather than legislation. Statements by the prime minister and other ministers included advice to schools to cancel trips abroad (12 March); to the public to avoid non-essential travel, crowded places such as pubs and theatres, mass gatherings, and visits to care homes (16 March); and escalated to the closure of schools, colleges and nurseries (announced 18 March, effective 21 March).
Initial regulations, from 21 March 2020 On 21 March under emergency powers the government enacted the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Business Closure) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/327) which enforced the closure in England of businesses selling food and drink for consumption on the premises, as well as a range of other businesses such as nightclubs and indoor leisure centres where a high risk of infection could be expected. SI 2020/350 revoked SI 2020/327, which had come into force only five days earlier, and re-enacted most of its provisions with more extensive restrictions.
Lockdown Regulations, from 26 March 2020 The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/350), informally known as "the Lockdown Regulations", replaced SI 2020/327 on 26 March 2020 with a series of more stringent restrictions. These regulations became the principal delegated English legislation restricting freedom of movement, gatherings, and business closures during the COVID-19 emergency period. There were four primary amendments to SI 2020/327, progressively relaxing the rules, on 22 April, 13 May, 1 June, and 13/15 June. On 4 July 2020, SI 2020/350 was repealed and replaced by these regulations, SI 2020/684.
Regulations Legal basis The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/684) was introduced by way of a Statutory Instrument made by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, using emergency powers available to him under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984. The regulations themselves state the legal basis for using such powers, namely "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"; he also certified that the restrictions "are proportionate to what they seek to achieve, which is a public health response to that threat."
The regulations were laid before parliament at 3.00pm on 3 July, the day before the regulations came into force. The Secretary of State once again used section 45R of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 to enact the regulations immediately subject to retrospective approval by resolution of each House of Parliament within twenty-eight days. In the regulations themselves he stated that "by reason of urgency, it is necessary to make this instrument" without having first placed a draft before parliament for prior discussion and approval.
Scope and review The regulations (which applied in England only), imposed restrictions during the "emergency period" which effectively re-enacted the identically-named period first defined in the Lockdown Regulations SI 2020/350, as amended. The Secretary of State was given the power to define the end of the period. He was required to review the regulations at least every 28 days, and to terminate any restriction that he considered to be no longer necessary.
The regulations initially did not apply in the city of Leicester and the surrounding area. Special rules were in force there from 4 July 2020, as set out in The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Leicester) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/685), later partly relaxed.
Commencement The regulations as a whole came into effect at 0.01 am on 4 July 2020, though relaxation of the business closure rules allowing many venues to re-open was deferred until 6.00 am on the same day. According to a government spokesman this was a "sensible precaution" to avoid midnight parties.
Business closures The previous list of businesses required to close was revoked and re-enacted, with fewer restrictions. The only businesses that were still completely barred from re-opening were nightclubs, dance halls, bowling alleys, discotheques; sexual entertainment venues; casinos; nail bars and tanning booths; spas and beauty salons (except hairdressers); massage parlours, tattoo parlours and body piercing services; indoor and outdoor swimming pools; and indoor skating rinks, play areas, gyms, sports courts, and fitness and dance studios. Some exceptions were made for elite athletes, and professional dancers and choreographers. Most trade shows, exhibitions and conferences were still not permitted.
Premises previously forced to close but which were permitted under the regulations to re-open (unless they offered services mentioned in the list above) included cafes, bars, pubs; theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums, galleries, leisure and entertainment venues; social clubs, bingo halls; hairdressers; funfairs, theme parks, model villages; outdoor skating rinks, play areas, gyms and sports courts; indoor attractions at heritage sites, farms, zoos and safari parks; and libraries. Places of worship could re-open generally and were no longer, as previously, restricted to opening for private prayer.
Government guidance Although the regulations allowed theatres and concert halls to re-open, separate non-enforceable government guidance published on 3 July 2020 stated, "At this time, venues should not permit live performances, including drama, comedy and music, to take place in front of a live audience. This is important to mitigate the risks of aerosol transmission – from either the performer(s) or their audience."
Restrictions on gatherings The previous Lockdown Regulations were revoked, and were replaced with a new regime regulating gatherings of over 30 people. Most indoor gatherings of any size were allowed, but subject to a limit of 30 for gatherings at private dwellings. Public outdoor gatherings of up to 30 were also allowed, but most larger public gatherings remained banned.
Subject to a few exceptions, all gatherings of more than 30 people within a private dwelling, or in an adjacent garden or yard, remained prohibited. For this purpose, the following were not considered to be 'private dwellings', and so could in principle have larger gatherings: hotels, hostels, campsites, caravan parks, B&Bs, care homes, children's homes, military accommodation and prisons. Also not considered to be private dwellings were boarding schools and student halls of residence.
All indoor raves regardless of the number of participants were prohibited (outdoor raves were already liable to be broken up by the police under section 63(1) of the Public Order Act 1994).
Generally, public outdoor gatherings of more than 30 were not allowed, unless at an outdoor visitor attraction or at an organization's operational premises. Larger outdoor gatherings on public land were permitted only if they had been organised by a business, charity, public or political body, a risk assessment had been carried out, and all reasonable measures had been taken to limit virus transmission.
There were some exceptions where otherwise-prohibited gatherings of more than 30 were allowed: Where reasonably necessary for work, voluntary or charitable purposes; or education or training Where reasonably necessary for childcare Where reasonably necessary to provide emergency assistance; or to avoid injury or illness or to escape a risk of harm Certain exceptions for elite sportspersons To fulfil a legal obligation.
Government guidance The government's non-enforceable guidance on social distancing was more restrictive than the legal regulations. The guidance stated that from 4 July "you can meet in groups of up to two households (anyone in your support bubble counts as one household) in any location – public or private, indoors or outdoors. You do not always have to meet with the same household – you can meet with different households at different times. However, it remains the case – even inside someone’s home – that you should socially distance from anyone not in your household or bubble". When outside, "you can continue to meet in groups of up to six people from different households, following social distancing guidelines."
Power to restrict access to public places The Secretary of State was given the power to make declarations restricting access to public outdoor places anywhere in England, either to a specified place or to all places of a given description. Once he had made such a declaration, access restrictions had to be enforced by the owner of the land or the local authority, and it became a criminal offence for anyone apart from the owner or occupier to enter the land without a reasonable excuse.
Any direction to restrict access to public places had to be reviewed by the Secretary of State at least once every seven days. The owner or occupier of the land could appeal to the Magistrates Court against the direction.
Offences and enforcement Enforcement of the regulations was in the hands of the police, with provision being made for the local authority and the Secretary of State to designate additional people for some purposes.
It was a criminal offence to breach the restrictions on business closures, restrictions on gatherings, or public spaces that the Secretary of State had declared closed. Fixed penalty notices could be issued, or offenders prosecuted.
Amendment and expiry The regulations were amended to implement relaxations in July and August 2020, and were then made more restrictive by further amendments in September, as outlined below. On 14 October, the regulations and accumulated amendments were substantially changed by the First COVID-19 tier regulations.
The regulation as initially enacted (but not all later amendments) automatically expired on 4 January 2021, six months after enactment.
Re-opening of some businesses, 11 and 13 July 2020
The regulations were amended on 22 April 2020, after 7 days, by the (SI 2020/719).
Legal basis The amendments were made under the same emergency powers as the main regulations. They were laid before parliament on 10 July 2020, and came into force on 11 and 13 July. The Secretary of State again used section 45R of the 1984 act to enact the regulations "by reason of urgency" subject to retrospective approval by resolution of each House of Parliament within twenty-eight days.
Changes to the regulations The amendments allowed certain businesses to re-open, specifically outdoor swimming pools and water parks (from 11 July 2020); and nail bars and salons, tanning booths and salons, spas and beauty salons, massage parlours, tattoo parlours, and body and skin piercing services (from 13 July 2020).
Re-opening of some businesses, 25 July 2020 The regulations were amended on 25 July 2020, after a further 14 days, by the (SI 2020/788).
Legal basis