Policy paper

Free face coverings and visors to charities scheme

Published 29 December 2021

Applies to England

Legal basis

The primary legislation used to invoke this scheme were Section 2 and Section 2A of the National Health Service Act 2006.

Objective

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has a central and ongoing role in protecting public health. DHSC currently holds a stock of personal protective equipment (PPE), including non-clinical visors and Type IIR face masks, the latter of which can be used as face coverings for source control.

To protect public health and support compliance with the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020, in June 2021 the DHSC committed to providing a supply of visors and face masks for use as face coverings to charities across England, free of charge. This supply was intended to be used by staff, volunteers and the general public accessing the charities.

On 19 July 2021, at step 4 of the COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021 roadmap, the government removed the majority of outstanding legal restrictions, including the legal requirement to wear face coverings. However, given the continued threat from coronavirus (COVID-19), the government continued to expect and recommend that face coverings be worn in crowded, enclosed or poorly ventilated areas.

To protect public health, support the continued usage of face coverings in line with government guidance, support the reopening of the economy and increase public confidence, the government continued providing visors and face masks for use as face coverings to charities until 1 August 2021.

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of the scheme are all charities in England that fall under the the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) umbrella. This includes, but is not limited to:

• community associations
• religious centres
• food distribution organisations
• health and wellbeing providers
• citizen advice services
• housing associations

Budget

The value of the free face coverings and visors scheme for the period 9 July 2021 to 1 August 2021 is around £857,000.

Functioning

The aid took the form of free distribution of visors and surgical-style face masks to charities as a contingency supply of face coverings for use by staff, volunteers and visitors. In the first instance, the aim was to proactively aid compliance with the government’s mandatory face coverings regulations and, subsequently, after 19 July 2021, to facilitate compliance with government guidance.

In some settings and scenarios, when used appropriately, surgical masks can be classed as PPE. However, in the context of charity settings, these masks are classed as face coverings. A face covering is something that safely covers the nose and mouth.

Clinical advice received from the UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) says that surgical masks may be used as face coverings as they act as a barrier around the nose and mouth, reducing droplet and aerosol emissions.

Although the offer of face coverings at zero cost was made by DHSC, NAVCA facilitated this process by informing all their charities of the offer through their existing stakeholder channels.

Charities were able to order face coverings and masks from the DHSC by filling in a form, which was circulated to the charities by NAVCA.

The deliveries took place between 9 July 2021 and 6 December 2021.

Conditions of use

The face coverings and visors were to be distributed to staff, volunteers and visitors of charities free of charge.

The face coverings supplied were disposable face masks, not to be distributed nor used as PPE or for medical purposes.

For distribution to charities, the masks were classed as face coverings only. A face covering, as set out in the guidance, is any type of covering which covers the nose and mouth.

The supply should not be sold onward without DHSC’s permission, and it is not to be used for any economic activity.