The advice note 'Group Size, Gatherings and Covid-19 Safe Capacity' produced by Sarah Clover and Leo Charalambides through the NEXSTART group, seeks to address the confusion on group sizes and gatherings which are addressed separately in two sets of guidance published by the Government on 23 June 2020.   These are a)  “Meeting people from outside your household from 4 July: How you can see people that you do not live with while protecting yourself and others from coronavirus (COVID-19) from 4 July 2020”; and b) “Keeping workers and customers safe during COVID-19 in restaurants, pubs, bars and takeaway services” (“the Restaurant, Pubs, etc Guidance”).

Sarah Clover is a barrister at Kings Chambers and Chair of the IoL’s West Midlands Region

Leo Charalambides is a barrister at Kings Chambers and Francis Taylor Building and Editor of the IoL’s Journal of Licensing

NEXSTART is the National Exit Strategy Advice and Response Team for the licensed hospitality and entertainment industry, it is a coalition of experts with the following aims and objectives:

• working together to identify issues, work to find solutions, contribute to guidance, and act as a resource to support a national strategy for the safe and successful exit of this industry from lockdown, and
• to balance the needs of the public, businesses, and enforcement authorities.

NEXSTART Participants include:

• Association of Conservative Clubs
• Association of Independent Festivals
• Association of Leading Visitor Attractions
• Association of Town & City Management
• BEIS Expert Licensing Group
• Best Bar None
• British Beer and Pub Association
• British Institute of Innkeeping
• CAMRA
• Committee of Registered Clubs Associations (CORCA)
• Culture Central West Midlands
• Featured Artists Coalition
• Gambling Business Group
• Greater London Authority
• Institute of Acoustics
• Institute of Licensing
• Local Government Association
• London Councils
• Manchester Night Time Economy Adviser
• Music Venue Trust
• NALEO
• National Outdoor Events Association
• National Police Chiefs Council
• Night Time Industries Association
• Production Services Association
• Pub is the Hub
• Safer Business Network ( Business Crime Reduction Partnership)
• Safer Sounds Partnership
• Society of Independent Brewers
• The Tourism Alliance
• UKHospitality
• UKMusic
• Visit England /Visit Britain