Customer data collection mandatory from 18 September
The move will see existing voluntary guidance passed into law “in the coming days”.
The Department of Health and Social Care added that “further guidance, and where necessary, regulations will be set out specifying the settings which will be included.”
Details should be stored for 21 days in accordance with data laws and shared with NHS Test and Trace, if requested.
Pubs will be able to choose a data collection method that suits them, though existing guidance recommends a digital record.
Fixed penalties
The information would only be shared with NHS Test and Trace if it was requested in the event of a venue being identified as the location of a potential outbreak.
There will be fixed penalties for businesses that fail to comply with the law.
Fines could also be issued for pubs that take bookings for groups of more than six.
Further details are expected “shortly,” the Department said.
Required contact details include:
- name
- contact number
- date of visit
- arrival time
- departure time, if possible
Tough measures
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “NHS Test and Trace is a vital part of the government’s response to fighting coronavirus, designed to help us return to a more normal way of life and reduce the need for local lockdowns in the future.
“The system cannot operate without the cooperation of business. We are now mandating venues collect the necessary contact details and support NHS Test and Trace to stop the spread of the virus.”
Business Secretary Alok Sharma added that the “tough measures” were necessary to prevent local lockdowns. “If we don’t all pull together to drive this virus down, businesses will need to close and people’s jobs will be put at serious risk,” he said.
The change was outlined by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a televised address to the public yesterday (Wednesday 9 September).
