I would like to apologise for any confusion that arose from my statement on 7 October 2020, regarding the collection of customer, visitor and staff contact details regulations. In my statement, I said that “the initial fine is £1,000 and is reduced to £500 for prompt payment. In response to my noble friend Lady McIntosh, as I understand it, no first offence would incur a fine.”
To clarify, enforcing officers do have the ability to issue fixed penalty notices immediately upon the breach occurring. A fixed penalty notice can be issued for a number of breaches of the requirements in the regulations, including failure to:
- display an official NHS QR poster;
- request and then retain certain contact details, whether through a digital advanced booking system or non-digital logbook; or
- refuse entry to individuals who do not provide their details to hospitality venues only.
The first offence may therefore incur a fine of £1,000, which is reduced to £500 if paid within 14 days – though the officers retain the right to their discretionary approach under existing enforcement principles.
The Government will continue to engage with local authority enforcement officers and keep these enforcement measures under review.