Are we allowed 7 people in our house in different rooms?

[Firefliess]

DSD and her BF have come to stay this weekend. We also have DD and DSS and me and DH at home, so that makes 6 of us. DD wants her BF to stay over tomorrow night. I can't figure out whether that's allowed or not. It would mean 7 people in the house, but in no sense would we be "gathering" DD and her BF would get in late and go straight to her room. Rest of us probably we wouldn't even see him. Is that allowed? Or are people considered to be "gathering" simply by being in the same house? We're in England by the way and not in an area with any local lockdown

My son and wife have 5 children ranging from 5 to 12 years old in total 7!
It's ridiculous but are they breaking the rules then?

Yes, they have to choose their least favourite child and give them up for adoption.

Emergency clause 99F pt 7 because the 'rule of 6' is all encompassing, no exceptions whatsoever.

My son and wife have 5 children ranging from 5 to 12 years old in total 7! It's ridiculous but are they breaking the rules then?

If they don't all live together they can't all congregate in the same house at the same time.

Unless you hide them in other rooms, apparently. You can pop 50 people in the house but make sure you divide them up into groups of 6 and that you have enough rooms....

@Bluesheep8 the point is what about adult children say in a house who want to have time with their partners, what are they meant to do? Go six months without?

it just seemed far fetched to me that both teenage child and partner would stay locked in their room the entire period

Have you ever met a teenager? They are capable of staying in their room for months

And in your example they’ve got their girlfriend in the room with them, and their parents are downstairs with friends (gasp! horror!)

No court who has ever met teenagers would believe that those two would emerge for anything less than WWIII

[totally misses point, wanders off thread]

it just seemed far fetched to me that both teenage child and partner would stay locked in their room the entire period

Dd would drag the lad she was seeing into her bedroom and we didn’t see the poor chap for hours!

grin Have you ever met a teenager? They are capable of staying in their room for months

I was even one myself! I definitely ate food, drank and went to the loo.

I never believed that a teenager could stay in their rooms for months until I had such a cave dweller. My first child didn’t sit in his room but my second child only comes out for school and food. Nothing else has changed.

@Coffeeandbeans

I never believed that a teenager could stay in their rooms for months until I had such a cave dweller. My first child didn’t sit in his room but my second child only comes out for school and food. Nothing else has changed.

Exactly

His siblings have gone to uni/further education

So when he goes next year I doubt we’ll notice

Dd would drag the lad she was seeing into her bedroom and we didn’t see the poor chap for hours!

As a mother, I find this image quite disturbing.

@notevenat20

Dd would drag the lad she was seeing into her bedroom and we didn’t see the poor chap for hours!

As a mother, I find this image quite disturbing.

Yes, but we've all been teenagers with boyfriends and embarrassing mothers.

teenagers are now to be confined to their rooms and not allowed to get water or a snack in the mistaken belief that means mum can get pissed with a few more mates.

To be fair, that's my teens idea of utopia (he stashes snacks in his room; no need to come out unless it is is in the wee small hours when no one is entertaining guests).

Yes, but we've all been teenagers with boyfriends and embarrassing mothers.

I was definitely not allowed to drag my boyfriend into my bedroom for several hours!

2.1 Can I visit people indoors?
Yes. When meeting with people you don’t live with you can socialise in groups of up to 6. This is a legal limit. If your household (and/or support bubble) is larger than 6 people, you can gather together.

You should continue to maintain social distancing with anyone you do not live with. There is further guidance on meeting others safely, which includes details of exemptions from this limit, including for larger households and support bubbles.

This is directly from the gov.uk link, Dad's bf is part of your larger support bubble so it is ok by the logic of this section of the rules.

He wasn’t literally dragged

He walked himself up the stairs...

He came out for a wee and stuff

@Tadpolesandfroglets

I sincerely doubt anyone on this thread is a lawyer.

Your doubts are unfounded. At least two people on this thread to my personal knowledge are lawyers.

@MRex

The mental gymnastics is extraordinary - teenagers are now to be confined to their rooms and not allowed to get water or a snack in the mistaken belief that means mum can get pissed with a few more mates.

The law doesn't need to ask for a plain English interpretation, "private dwelling" is clearly defined in the law itself as the property, any land and any outbuildings. AND. I.e. you can't have 6 inside and 6 outside, never mind different rooms inside. There are specific exemptions to the 6 to allow for bubbles and larger households, but those bubbles do not exempt children sleeping upstairs, on the contrary it states children are included. There is clarity about staying overnight, that the limit is 6 (barring the specific exemptions), do people think there are so many large orgies regularly that this bit had to be written into law? Ultimately a police officer can choose whether or not to issue a fine (more likely when people start the kind of argument displayed here) and people will need to pay or go to court to have the debate in front of a judge. Regarding "ambiguity", this has widely been publicised as being a clear and simple rule of 6, accompanying guidance to limit social interactions - the guidance specifically can be taken as the plain English interpretation. There is only ambiguity for those who choose to tie themselves in knots.

With every respect, you are the one indulging in mental gymnastics, @MRex. You have managed to post that entire statement of the law without once referring to the central issue, namely that the law refers to gatherings and specifically defines what that means. So all your references to definitions of private dwellings are irrelevant, and the way the rules have in your view been publicised is equally irrelevant. The only thing that counts is what the law actually says.

@MRex the voice of reason!

In case it isn't obvious, it makes a difference what sort of lawyer you are. I wouldn't trust a foot surgeon to be my gynaecologist.

Dad's bf is part of your larger support bubble so it is ok by the logic of this section of the rules.

There no such thing as a "larger support bubble".

The OP's family can't have a support bubble as they are not a single adult household. And it's very unlikely the bf is a single adult household, so support bubbles are irrelevant in this situation.

@swg1

No, *@PinkkLady* I'm just in a Local Lockdown area where I'm allowed to see no-one apart from my bubble so oddly enough it hasn't come up!

I’m in a local lockdown where bubbles have been discontinued (Wales).

What happens in the situation where you are a family of six and have a single person bubbled with your household? As you are technically 7 but single people living alone are still allowed to join another household.

@Pobblebonk - if you read the law, gatherings have separate restrictions for public spaces (multiple variants) and private dwellings. A gathering defines "the same place"; it then clarifies the terms of "indoors", "private dwelling" etc. It is certainly relevant what the definition is of "place".

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut - the bubble of a single adult (plus any under-18 children from their household) is exempted, regardless of the number. A couple with 5 kids plus a single person with 6 kids can all bubble and not have to distance despite being 14 of them in total. An added restriction is that people can only pick one family to bubble with for the whole of the pandemic at present, so choose very wisely.