Write to your MP – Clinically Vulnerable Families

The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben across the Thames at sunset — Photo: Mike Gimelfarb, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A letter from a constituent carries real weight. Use these templates to tell your MP, or a public service, what Clinically Vulnerable people need. Adding a few lines about your own situation makes the biggest difference.

How to use them

Find your MP and their email address on the UK Parliament website, or the right contact at the service.
Open a letter below, select all the text and copy it into your email.
Fill in the parts in [square brackets], and add a few lines about how this affects you or your family.
Include your full address and postcode when writing to your MP, so they know you are a constituent.

Template letters

To your MP

Masks and the new protest law

Ask your MP to meet you, and CVF, about section 157 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which can make wearing a mask near a protest an offence.

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Select all the text, copy it into your email, and fill in the parts in [square brackets].

Subject: MEETING REQUEST: new protest law and its impact on your Clinically Vulnerable constituents

Dear [MP's name],

I am writing to you as your constituent in [constituency], and would be grateful for the chance to meet you to discuss a new law that puts Clinically Vulnerable people at risk of criminalisation.

On 29th June, most of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 came into force. Section 157 creates a new offence of concealing your identity in an area that police have designated around a protest in England and Wales. The wording is broad enough that wearing a face covering — including a medical respirator — is itself the offence in a designated area, punishable by up to a month's imprisonment or a fine.

The Act does include a health provision, but it is written as a defence, not an exemption. In plain terms, that means a Clinically Vulnerable person wearing a mask to avoid a potentially life-threatening infection has already committed the offence the moment they wear it, and must then prove their reason afterwards — potentially after being stopped, told to unmask, or arrested. Protection that only applies in a courtroom is no protection for someone whose reason for masking is to stay out of harm's way in the first place.

[This matters to me personally because … — briefly describe your situation or that of a family member, e.g. why you or someone in your household masks, and what taking part in public life safely means to you. Like many others, I should not have to choose between my health and my right to make my voice heard.]

I support the work of Clinically Vulnerable Families (CVF), a not-for-profit organisation that represents Clinically Vulnerable people and their households across all four UK nations and is a Core Participant in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. CVF has looked at this provision in detail and would join me for an online meeting to brief you fully and answer any questions. They are also happy to send you a short written briefing on section 157 in advance.

Would you be willing to meet us by video call?

Thank you for your time, and for representing us on this.

Yours sincerely,

[Your full name]
[Your address, including postcode — this confirms you are a constituent]
[Your email and phone number]

To your MP

Safer air in healthcare

Ask your MP to support better masks guidance, air filtration and ventilation standards so Clinically Vulnerable people can get healthcare safely.

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Select all the text, copy it into your email, and fill in the parts in [square brackets].

Dear [MP's name],

Re: Urgent action to protect Clinically Vulnerable people from airborne infections in healthcare

I am writing as your constituent to express my deep concern about the ongoing risks that airborne infections, such as Covid-19 and 'flu, pose to Clinically Vulnerable people, including those in my household. A Clinically Vulnerable Families survey found that 88% of Clinically Vulnerable people have delayed or cancelled, or would delay or cancel, medical appointments because of the risk of airborne infection. This is untenable for people managing long-term health conditions, and it needs action.

[How this affects me: add a short paragraph about how the current situation affects you or your family.]

What the experts told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry
Professor Clive Beggs, an expert witness, said: "Scientific evidence acquired during the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that the old classification system of 'airborne' or 'not airborne' used in the NHS HTM ventilation guidelines is no longer fit for purpose, and is in urgent need of revision." Dr Gee Yen Shin, a consultant virologist and Inquiry expert witness on infection prevention and control, said: "If you have got a vulnerable patient coming [into healthcare], to wear an FFP2 or FFP3 is a reasonable thing, and I can't think of a good reason to stop them doing that."

Masks and public health messaging
The World Health Organization still advises that vulnerable people wear a mask in crowded, enclosed or poorly ventilated places. Yet UK infection prevention and control guidance continues to favour fluid-resistant surgical masks over FFP2 or FFP3 respirators, despite the evidence that higher-grade masks better protect against airborne infection. Guidance should support Clinically Vulnerable people, and those around them, to wear FFP2 or FFP3 masks in enclosed indoor spaces, and make clear that they should not be challenged for doing so.

In the short term: air filtration
Air filters in healthcare settings and other public indoor spaces can significantly reduce airborne pathogens. Cleaner indoor air protects vulnerable people and saves money by reducing hospital admissions and staff sickness.

In the long term: better ventilation standards
Ventilation standards for public buildings should be reviewed and brought in line with expert guidance such as that from the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations (REHVA).

I urge you to support these measures and to raise them with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. I would be grateful for your reply.

Yours sincerely,

[Your full name]
[Your address, including postcode]

To a public service

Ask for reasonable adjustments

Ask a school, GP surgery, council or other public service for masks, ventilation and clean-air measures under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

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Select all the text, copy it into your email, and fill in the parts in [square brackets].

Dear [Name],

I am writing as a [Clinically Vulnerable person / member of a Clinically Vulnerable household] to request reasonable adjustments that will allow safe access to [name the school, GP surgery, library, council office or other public building], in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and the Equality Act 2010.

Under the PSED, public sector organisations must anticipate the needs of disabled people, both members of the public and staff, and take reasonable steps to remove or reduce barriers before they exclude someone. The Equality and Human Rights Commission's guidance on the PSED is here: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/public-sector-equality-duty

National guidance already recognises this. Following evidence from Clinically Vulnerable Families, the Electoral Commission updated its guidance for polling stations to support Clinically Vulnerable voters, including:
– "see a mask, wear a mask" for staff helping a masked voter;
– improving ventilation, for example by opening windows and doors;
– using air filtration;
– recognising that asking someone to remove a mask may put their health at risk.

Although this guidance is for elections, the same principles apply to other public services, including [education / healthcare / local authority services]. It shows national recognition that airborne infection is a barrier to access, and that masks, ventilation and filtered air are reasonable adjustments for Clinically Vulnerable people.

I am therefore asking for the following reasonable adjustments:

1. Recognition that a face mask may be medically necessary for some people, and that they should not be asked to remove it.
2. Ventilation and clean-air measures in [classrooms / treatment or consultation rooms / meeting spaces], such as opening windows and doors where possible, using CO2 monitors to check ventilation (800ppm or below is considered good), and using air filters where ventilation is poor.
3. Alternative arrangements, such as online meetings or well-ventilated spaces, when the risk of airborne infection is higher.
4. Advance notice of situations where indoor crowding or poor ventilation is likely, so adjustments can be arranged in advance.

These adjustments are low-cost, evidence-based and in keeping with both the letter and the spirit of the PSED. I would welcome a conversation about how they can be put in place. Please let me know a suitable time.

Thank you for your help.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]

Had a reply? We’d love to hear how it went, as it helps us plan our next steps. Tell us. You can also read our open letters.