The Department of Health and Social Care has published a policy
paper on the provision of free face coverings and visors for
charities under the NAVCA umbrella between 1 July 2021 and 1
August 2021.
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.
