It has become a requirement for premises and venues across England to have a system in place to record contact details of their customers, visitors and staff. This move is intended to help trace people should a venue be linked to a coronavirus outbreak. 

The government has said that further guidance and, where necessary, regulations will be published specifying the settings affected by the changes. The scope will cover the hospitality industry, such as pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes, as well as close contact services and other tourism and leisure venues.

These businesses and organisations had been advised to collect and share data, with many effectively doing so. However, the data collection programme has now been formally mandated since 18 September 2020 and will support the NHS Test and Trace service.

The main requirements for collecting contact details are as follows:

• Details to be stored for 21 days and shared with NHS Test and Trace if required
• Contact details required include name, contact number, date of visit, arrival, and departure time (if possible)
• Fixed penalties for organisations that do not comply
• Venues will also be in breach of the law if they take individual bookings of more than six people
• Customers who do not provide details may be refused entry.
• All collected data must comply with GDPR and should not be kept for longer than necessary.

Further details are expected to be published shortly and clarified in future regulations.