Support bubble anxiety - how do you prove you are in one?

[Goawaybird]

I live with dh but I’m bubbling with my single parent best friend. We aren’t bubbling with anyone else as a household and nor is she.
So I understand that effectively we are treated as one household, which means that I can go into her house and she in mine.
But if someone phoned the police how do we prove we are in a support bubble? I suffer from anxiety and it is making me incredibly anxious. I feel like I am breaking the law.

[Aquamarine1029]

I honestly wouldn't worry about this at all. You aren't doing anything wrong.

[user1274157963247]

What are you worried the police will do?

[Goawaybird]

Fine me? Give me a criminal record?
I just think - even though genuinely this is a bubble - won’t loads of people say they are in bubbles when they aren’t? How do they know who to believe?

[ILookAtTheFloor]

Plod can arrest me if he/she likes, if Plod is going to go around checking this.

Don't worry about it OP. I'm not.

[maddy68]

You really think anyone is checking ? They don't even check when you come in off a flight

[onedayinthefuture]

I really wouldn't worry about it. Anxiety is horrible though.

[Aquamarine1029]

I mean this gently but you are being way ott and just plain silly. You are not doing anything wrong. The police have far better things to do than worry about what you're doing.

[user1274157963247]

You would need to be convicted of an offence or accept a caution in order to end up with a criminal record. So, that's not going to happen.

The legal system can only punish you if there is sufficient evidence.

[HeronLanyon]

Even if anyone were to question it the police won’t be interested.
Even if the police were interested you would all three explain - because true everything would tally - no reason not to simply believe you !!
That last scenario is vanishingly unlikely. In any event a breach of regs is not a ‘criminal offence’.
You’re doing everything right. Head up - best foot forward op. Support.

[halcyondays]

It’s very unlikely anyone will phone the police and even if they’ve did you’re following the guidelines.

[BunsyGirl]

You don’t have to prove you’re in a support bubble. Even if someone with any authority did question it, your friend would easily be able to prove that she is a single adult household (from her Council tax letters etc.) and therefore entitled to be in a support bubble. But no one is going to question it.

[Juanmorebeer]

Hi OP I'm a police officer so I can tell you what would happen in my force. We are actually attending covid breach jobs, we receive up to 800 reports of them each day.

We generally take people's word for it re bubbles so if we turned up and there was just two households so you with your adult friend and kids we'd just say goodbye and be on our way.

If there is a larger gathering we tell them they must disperse and give them a few minutes to leave the address. A ticket (fine-£200) would only be given if the people refused to leave. I have never had to give one yet and I have not attended a large gathering either. Although we have had them in my force, raves etc and the organisers have been given whopping fines.

[Goawaybird]

Thank you. That’s good to know.
I assume my friend’s neighbours know she’s there on her own anyway and would see it’s only me coming and going. I guess it’s the same the other way. If any neighbour cared to keep track they’d only see her coming and going on her own 🤷🏼‍♀️
I’m such a rule follower and I find the whole thing massively stressful.

[Juanmorebeer]

Oh you'd be surprised the things that neighbours ring the police for! But in your situation you have nothing to worry about so you are fine to crack on 😊

[WingingItSince1973]

My single parent daughter is in our bubble. I wouldn't worry at all about it. Please don't panic xxx

[Christmaspud20]

I get what you're saying but please don't worry.
I have a friend who when the bubbles got introduced, she would have say her single friend ' tina' around for the day and say its her support bubble.
A few days later she would have ' Mary' and her 2 kids and say if anyone was to ask she'd say it's her bubble
And so forth, you get the picture.
No exaggeration she would have about 10 ' bubbles' because she said no one would know.
She's married and her dh also seemed to bubble at others houses.

[IrisPurple]

I understand your anxiety, more about what people are thinking rather than the police. My neighbour is in the exact same position (bubbling with single parent friend) abd sge keeps telling people they are in a bubble.

To be fair you'd look at them and never assume they're a bubble, and people tend to assume a single parent would bubble with their own parents rather than a friend, but of course that's not necessarily the case, and the guidance is that you bubble with someone local, so you are doing the right thing.

[Hoppinggreen]

I was wondering about this. I have just invited my friend to join our bubble, she has just split up with her husband and has her teen DD every other week. According to the guidelines I have read she is now treated like a member of our household but I’m not sure what we can/can’t do.
I’m not really anxious about it though, especially since we won’t be going out anywhere together.
Also, is her teen DD now part of our bubble too?

[starfish4]

The police were stopping people around here a lot initially, so work issued me with a letter explaining I was a keyworker and essential for their business. In turn, I asked my else mother to write a note explaining why she needed me to visit. I didn't need the work one, but they did read my Mum's note.