Absolutely—I would be happy to. We are almost out of time, so I again thank the noble Baroness, Lady Sater, for raising the issue and securing this debate. A number of these one-hour debates on Thursday afternoons could be considerably longer. I look forward both to working closely with the sectors and to continuing to provide the support they need.
My Lords, the question we asked on specialist schools was about the music and dance scheme, and the dance and drama awards. I am not sure that the Minister mentioned them. They are the ones that I thought were now exempt from VAT.
With huge apologies, we have run out of time and we need to move on to the next debate. My officials will go through the Official Report and we will endeavour to write to noble Lords.
(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberI will take the proposal back to the department.
My Lords, the Minister should agree that in the cultural area the UK should have much closer relations with the EU. Although the language has changed, we have not yet seen any action at all to address the specific concerns of the arts and creative industries. When will that happen? Every passing week represents lost opportunities and revenues for many artists and creatives who continue to face huge difficulties in Europe.
There is a genuine commitment and determination from the Government to address this. I thank the noble Earl for his question on this point.