Covid-19: Creative Industries

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

My noble friend is sadly right that the progress in this area has been disappointing. There are pockets of improvement, particularly around ethnicity in certain subsectors of the industry. However, as I said in my response to the right reverend Prelate, there is not a single body that can sort this out. That is why we are pleased to be working closely in partnership with the key industry bodies, including the Creative Industries Council, to address this point.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

ONS data from September 2019 showed that 16% of the creative workforce was of working-class origins. Covid-19 is exacerbating this class crisis. Up to 35% of the workforce have had no financial support, and without employment and no access to alternative economic and social resources, 20% are leaving to find work elsewhere. Will the Government publish an assessment of Covid on the creative workforce as stratified by socioeconomic origin, and will they commit to following their own Social Mobility Commission guidance on monitoring the extent of socioeconomic diversity in the workforce, especially in those organisations getting investment from Covid support schemes?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Baroness raises important points. As I said earlier, we take this issue seriously. We were encouraged by some of the work done by the Creative Industries Council, which published its Diversity & Inclusion Progress Report in, I think, May. We are beginning to get more clarity on the baseline from which we are moving. There is better diversity monitoring, better strategies to develop a talent pipeline and clear strategies to address leadership. As I say, there is a great deal of work to be done and much in train.

Music Industry

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I think that is more a question for my colleagues in the Treasury, but I am happy to pass it on.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, grass-roots music venues are a vital launch pad for emerging artists, and 93% of them are commercially owned. Emergency stop-gap funding to prevent imminent evictions is welcome, but does the Minister agree that a longer-term solution, such as a property management fund, is required so that this valuable network of venues is not lost?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Baroness, as ever, makes a good point. Of course those venues are critical. We are trying to learn as we go along, and look forward to hearing about the impact of the cultural renewal fund, which aims to retain employment and allow some venues to reopen and others to partially open. We will keep the situation under close review.

Arts, Culture and Heritage: Support Package

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Wednesday 8th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran]

My noble friend is right that our cultural sector and the extraordinarily talented people who work within it have been a great driver both in terms of quality of life but also economic growth in this country. As regards open-air performances, as I said, we are optimistic that we will be able to move to stage 3 of our road map very shortly and to stage 4 later this summer.

[Baroness Bull (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I too welcome this support and thank all those in government and the cultural sector who have worked so hard to deliver it. Can the Minister press two key points with colleagues in DCMS and the Treasury? First, there is the importance of balancing ambitions to safeguard the sector—I quote both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor—with recognition of the need to address existing imbalances and inequalities through investment in people, places and ideas, particularly creative freelancers and those parts of the country too often overlooked. Secondly, there is the urgent need to agree not-before dates so the sector can plan the journey to reopening, as set out in stage 5 of the plan.

[Baroness Barran]

To be clear on the criteria for where funding is going, grant and loan recipients will need to show that, first, they are viable, secondly, they are at risk, and thirdly, they have exhausted all existing avenues of funding. As regards diversity, I touched on number of those points in my response to the noble Baroness, Lady Bonham-Carter. That will be a clear priority. On the date for reopening, I am afraid that I can say no more than that our priority remains safety, but as soon as we can give a date, we will.

Covid-19: Orchestras and Cultural Venues

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Wednesday 1st July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran]

The noble Baroness has raised an important point about clarity of timing. The Secretary of State recently revealed a five-stage road map that will allow the performing arts sector to get back up and running, and more detailed guidance will be published shortly. She has also raised a question about organisations that do not have a permanent home and are touring. First, we will obviously endeavour to ensure that they do not, in her words, fall through the cracks. We are also working with organisations to be innovative, including being able to perform out of doors.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, on 8 June the Secretary of State said that he will not stand by and see our world-leading arts and cultural sector destroyed—but it seems to many of us that that is exactly what is happening. The Government’s road map sets out five steps to reopening but fails to recognise the cultural ecosystem, of which live performance is just one part. It has no financial support and, crucially, no timetable. Does the Minister agree that, while definitive opening dates clearly cannot be given, a not-before timetable, just like hospitality and hairdressing were given, would at least enable the sector to plan properly and avoid as far as possible job losses and further closures?

[Baroness Barran]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right about the ecosystem. The department has heard that loud and clear and understands it well. On detailed guidance as regards timings, I can only say that it is being worked on and will be published soon.

Covid-19: Women’s Sport

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Tuesday 30th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran]

I am sure that my noble friend also was pleased to see the appointment of Clare Connor as the first female president of the MCC. There is a great commitment to getting cricket started again. The county cricket season starts at the beginning of August; the ECB is committed to staging women’s cricket during 2020. Thanks to Sky’s coverage of the women’s game, we will see free-to-air coverage of women’s cricket return on the BBC later this season.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, women’s sport depends on getting girls and young women active, but they frequently have a negative association with sport, especially as they go through the changes of adolescence, because the physical exposure too often leads to body shaming. Does the Minister agree that the pressure on female athletes, laid bare by Mary Cain’s brave testimony, is the tip of the iceberg in a culture in which body shaming is all too prevalent? What are the Government doing to educate sports coaches about the negative impact of body shaming and to drive this harmful practice out of the sports arena?

[Baroness Barran]

The noble Baroness raises an important issue. I point to the campaign This Girl Can, of which I am sure she is well aware. It has highlighted and celebrated how normal girls and women look and has inspired 3.9 million women and girls to get active since it started in 2015. That has been an important part of this, but the body shaming issues she raises are real, and I think are even more so for women of colour, who can feel pressure to whiten their bodies as well as reshape them.

Seaside Resorts

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Monday 22nd June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran]

I will check on the specifics of language schools, but I assume that they are eligible for some of the wider cross-economy measures that the Chancellor announced, including, in particular, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. However, if there are additional points, I will be happy to write to my noble friend.

[Baroness Bull (CB) [V]]

My Lords, University of Southampton research shows that the five towns at the greatest economic risk from the pandemic across the entire UK are coastal: Mablethorpe, Skegness, Clacton-on-Sea, Bridlington and Kinmel Bay. Seaside towns saw workers laid off in April at a faster rate than anywhere else in Britain, and seasonal employment practices mean that many local people fall between government support schemes. Does the Minister agree that, although measures to bolster domestic tourism this summer are important, they need to be part of a broader package of support for coastal towns to diversify their economies and build long-term resilience?

EU: British Musicians

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran]

I am more than happy to share my noble friend’s advice with Cabinet colleagues. I stress that in all our negotiations we are seeking to minimise any friction through customs or other administrative issues.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, UK musicians rely on the European Health Insurance Card scheme while touring in the EU. While the negotiating mandate mentions that arrangements for healthcare cover for short-term business visitors could be good for trade, can the Minister give a concrete commitment that the Government will maintain European health insurance, as provided by the EHIC scheme, or at least provide an effective equivalent?

[Baroness Barran]

The Government are looking across all these issues to come up with the fairest and most practical system which facilitates the growth of our creative industries and performing arts around the world, including within the EU.

Covid-19: Museums, Galleries and Historic Buildings

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Thursday 21st May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, museums and galleries depend for their success on an army of freelancers and SMEs providing specialist services on a project-by-project basis. These are the people who bring collections to life, and yet their livelihoods are facing decimation as a result of this pandemic. Many had all of their work cancelled overnight but have discovered that they fall between the gap of government support schemes, often because they are part self-employed and part PAYE, or because they operate through personal service companies.

The cultural sector is a complex ecology with symbiotic interdependencies between buildings-based institutions such as museums, smaller organisations, a workforce that is 47% self-employed, and a vast number of creative businesses, 95% of which employ fewer than 10 people. Given this, will the Minister press her DCMS colleagues to ensure that the diversity of the sector is better reflected in the make-up of the Cultural Renewal Taskforce which was announced yesterday? People with experience at the established and large-scale end of the sector can, I am sure, speak for the interests of those at the smaller-scale and more flexible end, but is there a reason why they cannot be around the table in person to speak for themselves?

Covid-19: Sports

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Wednesday 13th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran]

I understand my noble friend’s interest in getting clarity as quickly as possible. I can only reiterate that officials and Ministers are working very closely with all those involved to make sure that we have the strongest possible case to put on their behalf at the spending review.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, in terms of the physical demands and the reliance on specialist training conditions, professional dancers are effectively elite athletes engaged in a team sport and, like athletes, they will need a significant period of training before they are fully match fit and ready to perform. Can the Minister tell the House what discussions are taking place about support for this sector, and about the safe return to training of professional dancers who, like athletes, contribute so much to our global reputation and sense of national pride?

[Baroness Barran]

I will need to write to the noble Baroness about the specifics of what engagement there has been with elite dance. Our clear aim is to set out a series of principles that will allow a return to safe training for all those engaged in elite and grass-roots sports.

Arts and Cultural Services

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran]

I will have to write to the noble Lord on that. I do not have that information.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, I welcome the £250 million cultural investment fund and the allocation of £90 million to the cultural development fund, but the Minister will know that the former focuses on infrastructure and the latter on urban, not rural, areas. Can she clarify plans to improve cultural services in urban areas where there is little in the way of cultural infrastructure and where revenue, not capital funding, matters? Can she say more about how the Government will address the discrepancy in provision between urban and rural areas, which have suffered the most by far as a result of the local authority cuts mentioned?

[Baroness Barran]

The noble Baroness is right to raise the issue of need in rural areas. The Government are approaching this principally through the lens of ensuring equality of access to cultural provision; we have focused on programmes such as Creative People and Places, reaching more than 3 million people in the areas in the bottom quartile for access. All the funds being looked at at the moment will look through the lens of rural access but our principal aim, in the words of the noble Baroness’s speech the other evening, is to unleash the creative potential of the nation.