Conservative MP Robert Jenrick has suggested lockdown measures across the UK could change as we head into the festive period.
The cabinet minister confirmed officials will assess the measures by the end of the month, when the government will have a greater understanding of the impact from November’s national lockdown.
Mr Jenrick acknowledged that families and businesses will want measures eased in order to make the most of the Christmas period but he failed to rule out further measures.
Reports suggest ministers are still hoping to relax restrictions temporarily at Christmas to allow families to get together.
However, speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Jenrick said: “I think particularly families and of small businesses who will want to be reopening on the 2nd of December and they’ll want to be restocking their shops, cafes and restaurants so they can make the most of the period between then and Christmas if they can.
“We have to counterbalance that with having the most current information and data at our fingertips.
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“The difficulty here is that there is a lag time of at least two weeks, potentially longer and I hope the public will understand that we want to be able to assess the new national measures themselves that have had an impact and how great an impact that has been.
“We won’t know that with any certainty until the last week of November and that’s the period when I expect we will be able to say more.”
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The Communities Secretary’s comments come hours after a government expert warned tiers may need to be strengthened.
Mr Jenrick added: “We will be looking at whether the measures we had in the old tiers were effective.”
