LONDON - The British government is doing "everything we can" to ensure the public can get a summer holiday this year but could not provide certainty on whether or not to book breaks now, health minister Matt Hancock said.

"I do understand the yearning for certainty, but certainty is hard in a pandemic. We are doing everything we can to make sure people can have that holiday in the summer," Hancock, who said he had booked a vacation in southwest England, told Sky News.

"The question people are asking understandably, is they are asking for certainty over what the situation will be like in terms of international travel and in terms of going on holiday at home this summer and ... what we've all been saying is we'll do everything we can to make sure people can have a holiday."

(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Costas Pitas) ((michael.holden@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 3213; Reuters Messaging: michael.holden.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))