General
From 17 May, England moved into ‘Step 3’ of the COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021 (the roadmap out of lockdown) and the government announced that the restrictions in Step 3 would continue for 4-weeks from 21 June, though the data will be reviewed after 2 weeks in case the risks have reduced.
This guidance sets out how people can see others safely:
- schools, further education and Early Years settings can remain open for all
- wraparound childcare and other children’s activities, including sport can continue for all children, regardless of circumstance, both indoors and outdoors.
- formally organised parent and child groups can take place indoors and outdoors for up to 30 attendees – children under 5 will not be counted in this number
- indoor hospitality venues can reopen, with table service only you can meet indoors either in a group of 6 (from any number of households), or in a group of any size from up to two households (each household can include existing support bubbles, if eligible)
- you can meet outdoors in groups of no more than 30 people
- you can take part in formally organised indoor and outdoor sports with any number of people (this includes gym classes)
- indoor entertainment and attractions can reopen
- all holiday accommodation can open. This can be used by groups of up to 6 or 2 households
- care home residents can nominate 5 named individuals (2 at any one time or on a single day) for regular indoor visits (following a rapid lateral flow test)
- work from home if you can
From 21 June:
- all care home residents will be able to nominate an essential care giver that will be able to visit the care home resident, even if the resident is isolating
- care home residents leaving the home for a low risk visit, such as a walk in the park, will no longer have to self-isolate for 14 days when they return
- the number of people who can attend weddings or civil partnership ceremonies, wedding receptions or civil partnership celebrations, commemorative events following a funeral, will be determined by how many people a venue can safely accommodate with social distancing measures in place. Further details below.
Click here to read official Government advice.
This page sets out key FAQs to help you prepare for these changes.
You can meet indoors either:
- in groups up to a maximum of 6 people (from any number of households) or
- in a group of any size from up to 2 households (each household can include existing support bubbles, if eligible
You can meet outdoors in groups of no more than 30 people. This will apply in all outdoor settings, including private gardens and outdoor hospitality.
Everyone who can work effectively from home must do so. Where people cannot do so – including, but not limited to, people who work in critical national infrastructure, construction, or manufacturing – they should continue to travel to their workplace. This is essential to keeping the country operating and supporting sectors and employers.
Public sector employees working in essential services, including childcare or education, should continue to go into work.
Where it is necessary to work in other people’s homes – for example, for nannies, cleaners or tradespeople – you can do so.
The risk of transmission can be substantially reduced if COVID-19 secure guidelines are followed closely. Extra consideration should be given to those people at higher risk.
Schools and colleges
Colleges, primary (reception onwards) and secondary schools will remain open.
Universities and higher education
All higher education students will be able to access in-person teaching.
There are several ways that parents and carers can continue to access childcare during the national restrictions:
- early years settings (including nurseries and childminders) remain open
- wraparound childcare and other children’s activities, including sport can continue for all children, regardless of circumstance, both indoors and outdoors.
- formally organised parent and child groups can take place indoors and outdoors for up to 30 attendees – children under 5 will not be counted in this number
- parents are able to form a childcare bubble with one other household for the purposes of informal childcare, where the child is under 14. This is mainly to enable parents to work, and must not be used to enable social contact between adults
- some households will also be able to benefit from being in a support bubble – see specific details on ‘support bubbles’
- nannies will be able to continue to provide services, including in the home
- out-of-school settings can organise domestic residential visits for children in consistent groups of up to 30 children
From 21 June all care home residents will be able to nominate an essential care giver that will be able to visit the care home resident, even if the resident is isolating.
Care home residents can nominate 5 named individuals (2 at any one time or on a single day) who can come in for a regular visit. The visitors will have to take a rapid lateral flow test every time they visit, wear PPE and keep physical contact to a minimum. There is guidance on visiting care homes during COVID-19.
In most cases, residents who go on a visit out of a care home will no longer need to isolate for 14 days when they return. Residents returning from some higher risk visits out of the care home, such as an overnight stay in hospital, will still be required to isolate. Decisions on risk will be made following a risk assessment by the care home for each visit out. There is guidance on visits out of the care home during COVID-19 for residents and care homes.
From 1 April, if you have been identified as clinically extremely vulnerable you will no longer be advised to shield. However, you should continue to take extra precautions to protect yourself. It is important that you continue to keep the number of social interactions that you have low and try to limit the amount of time you spend in settings where you are unable to maintain social distancing.
If you are in this group, you will previously have received a letter from the NHS or from your GP telling you this.
Visit our dedicated Community Hub page if you require practical help, or need support and advice.
If you need to travel you should look to reduce the number of journeys you make overall.
Walk or cycle where possible, and plan ahead and avoid busy times and routes on public transport.
Avoid car sharing with anyone from outside your household or your support bubble. See the guidance on car sharing. If you need to use public transport, you should follow the safer travel guidance.
International Travel
There will no longer be a legal restriction or permitted reason required to travel internationally.
There will be a traffic light system for international travel, and you must follow the rules when returning to England depending on whether you return from a red, amber or green list country.
All holiday accommodation can open (including hotels and B&Bs). This can be used by groups of up to 6 or 2 households (each household can include a support bubble, if eligible)
Funerals
From 21 June the numbers able to attend funerals and linked ceremonial events such as stone settings, wakes and ash scatterings will be determined by how many people a venue can safely accommodate with social distancing measures in place, including attendees of all ages and anyone working at the event.
Please visit our Lytham Cemetery and Crematoria webpage for the latest information at this venue.
Weddings or civil partnership ceremonies, wedding receptions or civil partnership celebrations
From 21 June the number of people who can attend these events will be determined by how many people a venue can safely accommodate with social distancing measures in place, including guests of all ages and anyone working at the event.
Inside private homes, and in enclosed structures in gardens of private homes, weddings can only be held with up to 6 people or 2 households, except in the case of an urgent marriage where one of those getting married is seriously ill and not expected to recover. These can take place in private dwellings with up to 30 people.
A marquee or other structure in a private garden of a private home must have at least 50% of its walled area open at any time for it to be classed as “outdoors”, and for the limit based on safe capacity to apply.
Restrictions remain as at present regarding table service requirements, face coverings, social distancing, dancing and singing.
Those organising weddings of more than 30 people in gardens of private homes or on private land, must complete a COVID-19 risk assessment to determine the number of people who can attend.
Guidance has been updated:
Wedding and civil partnership ceremonies, receptions and celebrations
Arranging or attending a funeral during the coronavirus pandemic
You can book a test online, by downloading the NHS COVID-19 app or by calling 119.
Support Bubble
A support bubble is a close support network between a household with only one adult (but no limit on children under 18) in the home (known as a single-adult household) and one other household of any size.
Support bubbles have been expanded; from 2 December you can form a support bubble with another household if any of the following apply to you:
- you are the only adult in your household (any other members of the household having been under 18 on 12 June 2020), or are under 18 years old living alone
- live with someone with a disability who requires continuous care and there is no other adult living in the household
- you have a child under 1, or who was 1 on 2 December 2020
- you live with a child under 5, or who was under 5 on 2 December
Once you’re in a support bubble, you can think of yourself as being in a single household with people from the other household. It means you can have close contact with that household as if they were members of your own household.
From 2 December you may change your support bubble provided that:
- your household, or the one you intend to form a new support bubble with, meets at least one of the criteria under ‘Who can make a support bubble’
- the other household is not already part of a support bubble which they intend to remain a part of
If you decide to change your support bubble, you should treat your previous bubble as a separate household for 14 days before forming a new bubble. This means following the rules on meeting people from other households in the tier you are in.
You can only form a support bubble if you meet the criteria. You can still meet indoors either:
- in groups up to a maximum of 6 people (from any number of households) or
- in a group of any size from up to 2 households (each household can include existing support bubbles, if eligible
You can only form a support bubble if you meet the criteria. You can still meet indoors either:
- in groups up to a maximum of 6 people (from any number of households) or
- in a group of any size from up to 2 households (each household can include existing support bubbles, if eligible
You can only form a support bubble if you meet the criteria. You can still meet indoors either:
- in groups up to a maximum of 6 people (from any number of households) or
- in a group of any size from up to 2 households (each household can include existing support bubbles, if eligible
A childcare bubble is where someone in one household provides informal (unpaid and unregistered) childcare to a child aged 13 or under in another household. For any given childcare bubble, this must always be between the same 2 households.
Friends or family who do not live with you and are not part of a support or childcare bubble must not visit your home to help with childcare. Childcare bubbles are to be used to provide childcare only, and not for the purposes of different households mixing where they are otherwise not allowed to do so.
No – childcare bubbles are to be used to provide childcare only, and not for the purposes of different households mixing where they are otherwise not allowed to do so.
Businesses and Venues
- essential and non-essential retail, including indoor and outdoor markets and car boot sales
- leisure and sporting facilities such as gyms, sports courts and facilities, leisure centres, fitness and dance studios, golf courses, swimming pools, riding centres, outdoor playgrounds
- hospitality venues, with table service only
- personal care and close contact services such as hairdressers and barbers, beauty salons, tattoo parlours, nail salons, spas and beauty services, massage parlours and tanning salons
- entertainment venues and attractions including zoos, theme parks
- public buildings, such as libraries, community centres and halls.
- allotments, recycling and waste centres, public toilets, car parks
- places of worship
- crematoriums and burial grounds
The full list businesses that can remain open can be found at this link.
The majority of public services will continue. These include:
- the NHS and medical services like GPs and dentists. We are supporting the NHS to safely carry out urgent and non-urgent services and it is vital anyone who thinks they need any kind of medical care comes forward and seeks help
- Jobcentre Plus sites
- Courts and probation services
- Civil Registrations Offices
- Passport and Visa Services
- Services provided to victims
- Waste or Recycling Centres
To reduce social contact, the regulations require some businesses to close and impose restrictions on how some businesses provide goods and services. The full list of these businesses can be found in the guidance on closing certain businesses and venues in England, but include:
- Nightclubs, dance halls, and discotheques
- Sexual entertainment venues and hostess bars
Pubs, Bars, Social Clubs and Private Members Clubs
Pubs, bars, social clubs, and private members clubs are permitted to open with a table service only.
Hospitality businesses selling food or drink for consumption on their premises must ensure:
- indoor bookings are for up to a maximum of 6 people (from any number of households), or in a group of any size from up to 2 households
- outdoor bookings are up to a maximum of 30 people
Premises with an alcohol licence
Food and drink must be ordered from a table, as well as served, to a customer who is seated at the premises and the operator must take all reasonable steps to make sure it is consumed at a table
Premises without an alcohol licence
Food and drink may be ordered or served from a counter or service point, but the operator must take all reasonable steps to ensure the customer remains seated whilst consuming the food or drink on the premises.
Leisure, sports and exercise
Leisure and sporting facilities can remain open such as gyms, sports courts and facilities, leisure centres, fitness and dance studios, golf courses, swimming pools, riding centres, outdoor playgrounds.
Outdoors
You can exercise in a group of up to 30 people when outdoors.
Indoors
You can exercise:
- on your own
- in a group of up to 6 people
- in a larger group of any size from up to 2 households (and their support bubbles, if eligible)
Formally organised sport
You can take part in formally organised indoor and outdoor sports or licensed physical activity with any number of people. This must be organised by a business, charity or public body and the organiser must take the required precautions, including the completion of a risk assessment.
Public attendance at spectator sport and business events can resume inside and outside, subject to social contact rules and limited to whichever is lower: 50% capacity, or either 4,000 people outdoors or 1,000 people indoors.
All children will be able to access any indoor or outdoor childcare and supervised activities.
Support
Workers in any part of the UK can retain their job, even if their employer cannot afford to pay them, and be paid at least 80% of their salary up to £2500 a month.
To see whether you can claim for your employees’ wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme click here
If you test positive for COVID-19 or are contacted by NHS Test and Trace and instructed to self-isolate you may be entitled to a one-off payment of £500 if you are on a lower income and cannot work from home, losing income as a result. The Test and Trace Support Payment scheme in Fylde is now live. Click here for the full eligibility criteria and to apply for the scheme.
