Coronavirus: Lockdown fines to rise as government mulls tougher enforcement measures

Fines for people who flout lockdown restrictions in England will increase from Wednesday, as the government warned it was considering tougher enforcement measures.

Members of the public will now face a minimum £100 penalty if they breach rules on movement during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The amount will be halved if it is paid within a fortnight.

Previously, police could award on-the-spot fines of up to £60 for coronavirus rule-breakers – reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days.

Fines will be doubled for each offence an individual commits, up to a total of £3,200.

From Wednesday, the legislation, known as Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020, will be updated to reflect the new Home Office measures.

It comes as a 50-page document published by the government setting out its COVID-19 recovery strategy for England said it was “examining more stringent enforcement measures for non-compliance, as it has seen in many other countries”.

The paper said it would be imposing higher fines “to reflect the increased risk to others of breaking the rules as people are returning to work and school”.

The new guidance states people will be able to:

• Exercise outside as many times a day as they want – although a limit on the number of exercise sessions has never been enforced by law in England previously.
• Spend time outdoors, other than for exercise, as long as they are not meeting up with more than one person from outside their household while observing social distancing measure by keeping two metres (6ft) apart, and continuing to wash their hands regularly.
• Drive to outdoor open spaces “irrespective of distance” as long as they observe social distancing rules when there, and do not travel over borders to other parts of the UK where rules are different. Previously, the public were urged not to travel long distances to visit beaches, countryside and beauty spots.

Little other detail was provided on how stricter enforcement other than higher fines would be imposed.

No other specific examples of scenarios where members of the public would be considered to be flouting the rules, and therefore liable for fines, were provided in the document.

Over the weekend, police in London tweeted saying officers were “fighting a losing battle” to get people to follow the rules, as people descended onto the city’s parks to eat and drink amid the hot weather.

John Apter, the national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “What we need from the prime minister and the government now is clear and unambiguous messaging and guidance, explaining what exactly is expected of the public, so that my colleagues can do their level best to police it.”

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Lockdown fines will remain unchanged in Scotland after the nation’s government said it found no evidence to suggest an increase was required because the number of fixed penalty notices there was “proportionately lower than in England”.

This means people found to be flouting lockdown rules for the first time in Scotland will still be fined £30 by police, rising to £60 if not paid within 28 days. Cumulative fines for repeat offenders will stay capped at £960.

Fines also remain unchanged in Wales – a £60 fine reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days, rising to £120 for a second and subsequent offences.

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Lockdown fines to rise as government mulls tougher enforcement measures