Senior executives from overseas will no longer need to quarantine when arriving in England if their trip is likely to be of “significant economic benefit to the UK”, it has been announced.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said that, subject to business leaders meeting strict criteria, they could “temporarily” leave mandatory COVID-19 isolation for work activities only after a year of stalled business travel.

They would need written permission to do so, the statement added, warning that an executive would not qualify if their activities could be carried out by someone else or remotely via telephone or email.

Exemptions would also only cover, the guidance stated, those making a “financial investment in a UK-based business” or for “establishing a new business within the UK”.

But BEIS said the ‘significant economic benefit’ test would only be met under certain conditions, such as the work having a greater than 50% chance of creating or preserving at least 500 UK-based jobs in either a new business or existing one with at least 500 staff.

BEIS said: “This exemption is designed to enable activity that creates and preserves UK jobs and investment, while taking steps to ensure public health risks are minimised.”

The statement confirmed all rules governing COVID tests would remain in place and all public health rules would still apply including the demand that a person must return to isolation between business activity.

It said: “Any individual who leaves self-isolation when required to self-isolate and who is not lawfully exempt from those requirements will be committing a criminal offence.”

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