An infrastructure equipment for providing a wireless backhaul for another infrastructure equipment in a wireless communications network comprises a receiver configured to receive, from the other infrastructure equipment acting as a relay, uplink data transmitted by a communications device, a transmitter configured to transmit to the infrastructure equipment acting as a node via the wireless access interface, and a controller. The controller is configured to control the transmitter and receiver to establish a connection with the other infrastructure equipment, the connection providing the wireless backhaul for the transmission of data from the communications device to a core network of the wireless communications network via the other infrastructure equipment, and to transmit in a message on the downlink of the wireless access interface an indication of whether the other infrastructure equipment is permitted to transmit a request while in the connected mode.