Second lockdown: People in England face £200 fine for leaving home without an excuse from today

0
184

PEOPLE in England can be fined £200 for leaving their homes without a reasonable excuse from today as new coronavirus laws came into effect.

It means people will face fixed penalty notices and potentially a criminal record for being caught going away on holiday – as that’s not a named excuse on the list.

People now face fines for leaving their home without a reasonable excuse on the list – and protests don’t count

From today people have been told to stay home unless they are leaving for work, exercise, medical need, to get food, or a string of other reasons.

Travelling in and out of their local area is also not allowed, and people may face fines if they break the laws.

The fine will be reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days but repeat offenders could be hit with penalties rising to £6,400 – or a conviction if they challenge it in the courts.

Specific exemptions for leaving your home for non-elite sport, protest and wedding receptions have been removed – meaning you can now face penalties for that too.

There are a series of other things you can be fined for in the new coronavirus laws – most of which were already in place in some areas before the second lockdown came into force.

For example, different households are banned from mixing indoors or in private gardens, unless in a support bubble.

But meetings of two people from different households in an outdoor public space, such as a park, are allowed.

People can still face fines for not self-isolating when they are ordered to (£1,000) and for attending or organising gatherings (up to £10,000).

And businesses can face extra penalties too for not upholding the laws in their premises.

Businesses can be fined £1,000 for a first offence, £2,000 for the second, £4,000 for the third and £10,000 for the fourth and subsequent breaches.

However, police are expected to exercise judgement on a case-by-case basis.

A 21-page College of Policing guide for officers states: “The list of reasonable excuses is not exhaustive and it is key that officers exercise judgment in a case where they encounter a person with an excuse that is not included in the list of exceptions.”

Officers have been advised to engage with people and explain the changes to the law and offer “encouragement to comply” voluntarily, with enforcement used only as “a last resort”.

The news came as:

  • England went into a second national lockdown today – with non-essential shops, restaurants, gyms and pubs closed
  • Rishi Sunak extended furlough again through to the end of March 2021 – with up to 80 per cent of pay
  • The PM insisted four weeks was enough time for the lockdown to have an effect AND he hopes to save Christmas
  • The Bank of England today pumped £150billion more into the economy through quantitive easing – and said the economy would take a 2% GDP hit as a result of more lockdown rules
  • Stats bosses bashed the Government’s scientific advisers for their use of data during the Covid-19 outbreak – as MPs demanded they get access to more vital health information

If an officer believes someone is outside their home without a reasonable excuse, they can direct them to return home.

Officers can order people in an illegal gathering to disperse or return to their home and can use “reasonable force” to remove someone.

Police can issue someone who is “reasonably believed” to have committed an offence under the regulations with a fixed-penalty notice.

An adult with responsibility for a child in breach of the regulations can be told to take them home.

A woman is detained by police from ‘The Million Mask March’ this evening