Tier 4 - can I form a support bubble and go stay with my parents?

[yellowtail1]

I live in London with my DH and our 10 week old baby. Can we go and stay with my parents (who live in a tier 2 area) over Christmas by forming a support bubble and if so, how long could we stay with them for? Sorry if this is a stupid question - my head is all over the place and I’m just so confused. Can anyone help?

I believe you should not travel outwith a tier 4 area

I'd head out before midnight if I were you, and stay with your parents. London sounds like plague-ville.

No you can't. You have a DH so you do not qualify to form a support bubble as none of you are single adults. Presumably you are not a carer for your parents as if you were you would have already been doing this.

No you can’t I’m afraid. Support bubbles are for single parents and you aren’t supposed travel out of tier 4?

I thought one of the households in a support bubble had to be a single adult household. Which doesn’t seem to apply in your situation.

@leafyhouse

For them to carry the plague to a tier 2 area?

I read this on the government’s website, which is why I’m confused - surely the last point applies to me?

You can form a support bubble with another household of any size if:

you live by yourself – even if carers visit you to provide support
you are the only adult in your household who does not need continuous care as a result of a disability
your household includes a child who is under the age of one or was under that age on 2 December 2020

No otherwise everyone would be doing that surely?

There is very clear guidance on what / who qualifies as a support bubble on the govt website , I don’t think you qualify .

Full link: www.gov.uk/guidance/making-a-support-bubble-with-another-household#what-a-support-bubble-is

Yes with a child under 1 you can form a support bubble with another household

I thought they’d extended support bubbles to babies recently

@Leafyhouse

I'd head out before midnight if I were you, and stay with your parents. London sounds like plague-ville.

There’s a bit of a logic fail there. People heading out of london are going to spread the new variant more widely and that’s going to screw over more of the country.

I would say with a child under one you can, but I'd head there this evening as well

OP absolutely qualifies for a support bubble, but I don’t know how the new tier 4 rule applies to that.

@Floralnomad

There is very clear guidance on what / who qualifies as a support bubble on the govt website , I don’t think you qualify .

If you actually read the guidance you'll see if they have a baby under 1 on 2hd December then they DO qualify

@yellowtail1 You can form a support/childcare bubble.

But think because you're in a tier 3 now (4 tomorrow) you can't travel to a lower tier.

Do you actually need support or is this just for a nicer Christmas?

Doesn't that mean just for childcare as the child isn't old enough for state nursery then.

I can see your point but why should a 2 parent family with a child under 1 be allowed to form a support bubble whereas a 2 parent family with a 3 yr old cannot , it makes absolutely no sense at all .

Those saying support bubbles are only for single parents, support bubbles changed a little while ago to include parents (including two parent families) of babies under 1. See the third bullet point.
However I don’t know how this translates to the new tier 4 restrictions.

Cross posted with a few others.

No you are not allowed to travel outside of tier 4.

This is a 'don't be a dick' issue

Did you feel you needed extra support 2 hours ago? If 'yes' would you have chosen someone who cannot actually support you day to day because they are miles away?

Tier 4 people should not be travelling unless essential

Form a support bubble, if you really need support, with someone local.