Lockdown: England to get tougher three-tiered system after national lockdown

Shops are expected to reopen under the next set of rules

After the national lockdown in England ends on 2 December, areas will be placed in a three-tiered system of local restrictions, the government has said.

But these tier one, tier two, and tier three rules will be slightly different than the ones in place before this period of lockdown began.

The new tiers are expected to be tougher than they were previously, and more areas are set to be placed into the higher tiers to keep the virus under control.

Full details of the so-called "Covid winter plan" are expected on Monday 23 November after cabinet discussions on Sunday.

Primer Minister Boris Johnson is expected to set out his plan - including details of how families can see different households at Christmas - to MPs.

The Liverpool city region was the first area of the country to be placed into tier 3 restrictions back in October

How will the new tiered system work?

It is not yet clear exactly how restrictions could change compared to last time, but non-essential shops are expected to reopen and the ban on outdoor grassroots sport is also set to be lifted.

It's understood that the 10pm curfew on restaurants and pubs will be different.

While they would still have to close at 10pm, people would get an extra hour to finish their food and drinks.

Some local measures will be the same as those in the previous three tier system, used in England to tackle the spread of coronavirus up until the current lockdown began.

The government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) is expected to publish papers on Monday saying that measures in the previous tiers were not strong enough.

More areas are set to be placed in the higher tiers - high risk or very high risk - after lockdown, No 10 has said.

Details of which tier each region of England will be put into are expected on Thursday, and MPs are expected to be given a vote to approve the new tier system in the days before it comes into force.

Earlier this month, Mr Johnson promised MPs would have a say on any restrictions imposed after the current lockdown ended.

Christmas

The government has said the UK's four nations had backed plans to allow some household mixing "for a small number of days" over Christmas.

The BBC understands that one option that was discussed in meetings this weekend was that three households could be allowed to meet up for up to five days over the festive period.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson had hoped to announce the plans for the Christmas period on Monday, but this has been delayed until at least Tuesday to allow the Scottish and Welsh cabinets to agree to the proposals.