The Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Boris Johnson gave a statement to the House of Commons on Monday 23 November 2020 outlining the Government’s winter Covid-19 plan. The COVID-19 Winter Plan sets out how national restrictions will be lifted in England on 2 December, with England moving back into a regional, tiered approach.  

On 2 December, across all of England, regardless of tier: 

• the stay-at-home requirement will end, with travel being permitted again subject to guidance in each tier 

• shops, personal care, gyms and the wider leisure sector will reopen 
• collective worship, weddings and outdoor sports can resume 
• people will no longer be limited to seeing only one other person in outdoor public spaces - the rule of 6 will now apply outdoors as it did in the previous set of tiers. 

Everyone who can work from home should 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. 

A summary of local restrictions, including what you can and cannot do in each tier, is available here, including information for businesses and venues.  

Pay VAT deferred: You can pay now or get ready to opt in to the VAT deferral new payment scheme. If you deferred VAT between 20 March and 30 June 2020 and still have payments to make, you can: 

• pay the deferred VAT in full on or before 31 March 2021; 
• opt in to the VAT deferral new payment scheme when it launches in 2021; 
• contact HMRC if you need more help to pay. 

Check how you can pay your deferred VAT.