Covid regulation enforcement “the responsibility of North Wales Police” say council

Wrexham Council are reiterating a request for the public to comply with Covid-19 regulations as we enter December, while noting enforcement comes under police responsiblity.

With concerns over the new variant there has been discussion over what should or could be done to mitigate any risks, with some observing face covering wearing in local supermarkets and other required venues has lapsed. We asked Wrexham Council if they were still firmly proactively enforcing regulations locally.

Councillor Hugh Jones, Wrexham Council’s Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety who has been Lead Member heading up the Council’s response said he wanted to offer ‘clarity’ on the council’s role in enforcement.

He added, “It is important to be clear in terms of enforcement, particularly about the wearing of masks in shops and supermarkets, that is the responsibility of North Wales Police.

“During the whole of the pandemic our public protection officers have worked in partnership with the police in terms of advising establishments about the appropriate measures that they need to take. We continue to do that, and obviously, we continue to manage and successfully run the Test, Trace and Protect process.

“Absolutely, we are constantly putting messages out to remind the public of the importance of complying with the regulations.

“But, as a council, we get a lot of people ringing up about ‘such and such supermarket’. What we do is we can issue advice to traders and businesses, but the responsibility for the enforcement is down to the police because clearly it is the law, but we do work in close partnership.”

A year ago Wrexham Council was requested by Wrexham’s MS to visit each local supermarket to see what measures were in place to ‘ensure safety of customers’, at the time Cllr Hugh Jones said, “Our Officers have and will continue to take enforcement action if required to ensure that all business within the County Borough comply with relevant measures”.

Wales is in Alert Level 0 – which means the legal regulations are:

• Face coverings must be worn in all indoor public places, and public transport, including taxis.
• You do not have to wear face coverings in places where food and drink is served, such as pubs, cafes and restaurants.
• You do not have to wear face coverings in wedding, civil partnership or alternative wedding ceremonies.
• Some wedding or hospitality venues might ask you to wear a face covering.  They can do this because they have looked at how to manage the risks for their business.
• Where food or drink is consumed in part of a premises, like a department store cafe, or hotel restaurant, you have to wear face coverings on the premises except in the area set aside for eating and drinking.
• It applies to everyone aged 11 and over, unless an exception applies. Children under 11 do not have to wear face coverings.
• It applies to staff working in indoor public areas and to members of the public entering those public areas.

There are some circumstances where people may not be able to wear a face covering, with Welsh Government asking “Please be mindful and respectful of such circumstances, noting that some people may be less able to wear face coverings and the reasons for this may not be visible to others.”

The full details on face covering rules can be found here: https://gov.wales/face-coverings-guidance-public