17 December 2020:
Extracts from regulations and guidance applicable to all three events on 17 December 2020.
On 5 November 2020, a second national lockdown was introduced which required people to stay at home and prohibited indoor gatherings of two or more people from other households except for permitted exceptions, including where the "gathering is reasonably necessary … for work purposes".
On 2 December 2020, England was divided into three tiers, with London in Tier 2 in which gatherings of two or more people indoors continued to be prohibited unless an exception applied, such as where the gathering was reasonably necessary for work purposes. Government guidance, issued on 30 November 2020 for the Christmas period, on visiting pubs and restaurants advised: although there are exemptions for work purposes, you must not have a work Christmas lunch or party where that is a primarily social activity and is not otherwise permitted by the rules in our tier."
On 16 December 2020, London was moved to Tier 3. Indoor gatherings of two or more people from different households continued to be prohibited. Social distancing remained the rule at work, with offices advised "to maintain social distancing guidelines (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable), wherever possible, including while arriving at and departing from work, while in work and hen travelling between sites". The Christmas part guidance issued on the 30 November 2020 remained unchanged.
A gathering in Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall to hold an online Christmas quiz for the Cabinet Secretary s Private Office
Summary
On 17 December 2020 a virtual quiz took place in the Cabinet Secretary s Private Office for staff who were in the office and working at home that day. Alcohol and food were consumed during the quiz which lasted approximately 90 minutes in total.
The event
On 1 December 2020 an email was sent by a Cabinet Office official in the Cabinet Secretary s Private Office to fellow Private Office staff (comprising 12 individuals) inviting them to a ’virtual Christmas party’ that would be held on Thursday 17 December 2020. The invitation said:
