Earl of Clancarty

The Government is committed to working collaboratively across departments to address the issue of musicians, performing artists and their support staff being able to tour across the EU. We will engage with the new European Commission and EU Member States, and explore how best to improve arrangements for touring across the European continent without a return to free movement. Our priority remains ensuring that UK artists can continue to thrive on the global stage.

The Government is committed to working collaboratively across departments to address the issue of musicians, performing artists and their support staff being able to tour across the EU. We will engage with the new European Commission and EU Member States, and explore how best to improve arrangements for touring across the European continent without a return to free movement. Our priority remains ensuring that UK artists can continue to thrive on the global stage.

The Government is dedicated to fostering the growth and global leadership of the arts and creative sectors, which significantly bolster the UK’s economic prosperity, contributing 5.7% of the UK’s total Gross Value Add in 2022 (£124.6 billion). They enrich people’s lives, and play a vital role in presenting the UK as an attractive location to visit and invest.

We are determined to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU by dismantling unnecessary barriers to trade. For the arts and creative sectors, this includes helping UK performing artists tour within the EU, enabling easier trade in the art, publishing and advertising sectors and facilitating greater cultural exchanges with the EU, as set out in the Government’s manifesto and Creating Growth: Labour’s Plan for the Arts, Culture and Creative Industries.

We have no immediate plans to conduct a formal review of the effect of leaving the EU on the arts and creative industries. Our focus is on working to reset the relationship with our European friends, neighbours and allies. The Prime Minister has had early positive early calls and meetings, including with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and key leaders in EU Member States. The Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations and the Foreign Secretary have also held early senior ministerial engagements with European counterparts, including at NATO and the European Political Community. Further engagements will be taking place over the coming weeks and months.

We recognise that strengthening the relationship will take time, but this Government is ambitious and wants to move forward at pace, with clear manifesto priorities for the creative and cultural sectors.

We are committed to ensuring that creativity and culture can be enjoyed by everyone, not just by the privileged few. This applies equally to classical music and opera as it does to any
other musical genre.

In addition to their earned income and philanthropic support, the ENO and WNO are funded by arms’ lengths bodies including Arts Council England and the Welsh Arts Council, whose decisions
are made independently of government.

The Government is aware of the significant financial challenges facing many arts organisations and the new Secretary of State for Culture will be working closely with the cultural sector at large to
support them to thrive.

The Creating Growth plan for the Creative Industries which was published in March sets out a number of early priorities for the new Government in relation to the arts and culture - and includes commitments to review Arts Council England, attract more funding from different sources for arts organisations, and ensure every child gets a good creative education.

Tackling absence is at the heart of the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity. Thanks to the efforts of the sector there are more learners in school but, with 1.6 million children still persistently absent, this remains a major challenge.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review is being independently conducted by a group of education leaders (the review group) and chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The terms of reference were published in July, which is attached and can also be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/curriculum-and-assessment-review.

The review will look closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve, in particular those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, or with special educational needs or disabilities. However, the review will not be able to address every issue facing the curriculum and assessment system. It will therefore seek to identify and focus on addressing the most significant and pressing issues facing curriculum and assessment without destabilising the system.

Ministers will take decisions on what changes to make to curriculum, assessment and qualifications in the light of the final recommendations from the review group next autumn.

The government has engaged with providers involved in the Dance and Drama Awards scheme to discuss the issue of VAT on private education and will consider how best to support young people engaged in this programme following the spending review.

For those starting initial teacher training (ITT) in the 2024/25 academic year in art and design and music, the department is offering a £10,000 bursary.

The bursaries that the department offers are designed to incentivise more applications to ITT courses. The department reviews bursaries each year before deciding the offer for trainees starting ITT the following academic year. In doing this, the department takes account of a number of factors, including historic recruitment, forecast economic conditions and teacher supply need in each subject.

The government is committed to delivering 6,500 new expert teachers. To deliver that commitment, the department will review the way bursaries are allocated and the structure of retention payments. The department will announce its recruitment and retention incentive offer for 2025/26 in due course.

All trainees on a tuition fee-funded ITT course can apply for a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan to support their living costs. Additional funding is also available depending on individual circumstances, such as the Childcare Grant. More information about teacher training funding can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/teacher-training-funding.

The department is working to reset the relationship with its European friends to strengthen ties and tackle barriers to trade. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has said that the department must do more to champion ties between the UK and the EU’s people and culture, for example, holidays, family ties, school and student exchanges, the arts and sport.

This is not about renegotiating or relitigating Brexit, but about looking forward and building a strong and constructive relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

There are no plans to make Eurostar St Pancras a CITES designated port following a review by UK Border Force that concluded it does not currently have the necessary capacity and infrastructure to undertake CITES checks. This will be kept under review.

The Department for Transport is committed to working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Cabinet Office and other relevant Whitehall departments to address key challenges facing the UK’s creative professionals and their support staff when touring in the EU.

We are working hard to reset the relationship with our European friends and know that strengthening this relationship will take time. This Government is ambitious and wants to make swift progress, with clear manifesto priorities for the creative and cultural sectors.

Where parents or families are paying fees for their child to attend a private school, they will pay VAT on those fees following this change.

Whilst developing these policies, the government has carefully considered the impact that they will have on pupils and their families across both the state and private sector, as well as the impact they will have on state and private schools. Following scrutiny by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), details of the Government’s assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes will be published at the Budget on 30 October in the usual way.

Since February 2023 HMRC have delivered three new online A1 application forms. These online forms are more accessible and provide a tailored customer journey for those applying for an A1 certificate.

In addition HMRC are adding automation to these forms, which will enable faster processing and reduce opportunities for error. HMRC expect the CA3837 used by self-employed workers in the music industry touring within the EEA, to be automated by October 2024.

The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and its operational unit, the UK National ATA Carnet Organisation, is responsible for the issue of ATA Carnets in the UK. Issuing Chambers charge their own fees to cover their administration costs. The cost of an ATA Carnet also reflects the cost of providing a guarantee through an International Guarantee Chain, which covers any customs charges potentially due on goods in the countries to be visited.

The UK is currently participating in a pilot exercise to digitalise ATA Carnets and their processes as part of a World Customs Organisation (WCO) and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) initiative. The Digital Pilot was launched in February 2019, initially involving the UK and five other countries. To date, the UK has successfully processed a number of e-ATA Carnets from Heathrow and is looking to collaborate with more ports to make digital Carnets more readily available.

There are other options for temporarily moving goods between the UK and EU which may be more cost-effective than an ATA Carnet, depending on the specific circumstances. The EU’s Temporary Admission procedure can be used in conjunction with the UK’s Returned Goods Relief to claim relief on goods which are temporarily imported into the EU, and subsequently re-exported back into the UK. More information can be found on GOV.UK.

On 29 July, the Government announced that, as of 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by a private school in the UK for a charge will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. This will also apply to international schools in the UK who provide education and vocational services for a charge.

This will secure additional funding to help deliver the Government’s commitments relating to education and young people, including opening 3,000 new nurseries, rolling out breakfast clubs to all primary schools, and recruiting 6,500 new teachers.

A technical note setting out the details of this policy has been published online here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees-removing-the-charitable-rates-relief-for-private-schools.

Draft VAT legislation has also been published alongside this technical note forming a technical consultation. The Government is engaging with a wide range of stakeholders as part of this consultation, to assess the impacts of these reforms.

The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events. The government will set out its fiscal plans at a budget on 30th October alongside a full economic and fiscal forecast.

The UK implemented the Withdrawal Agreement more generously than required by not testing whether EU citizens resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 were exercising a qualifying Treaty right in accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC.

This simplified the application process for the EU Settlement Scheme by avoiding the need for applicants to meet complex evidential requirements. No one has any lesser rights by virtue of their EUSS status than they are entitled to under the Withdrawal Agreement.

The UK has always sought to treat the same those who do meet the stricter eligibility requirements under the Withdrawal Agreement, and those who do not. Where minimal differences in treatment have arisen for pre-settled status holders as a result of litigation, we seek to minimise these through casework.

However, the UK cannot unilaterally expand the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement to bring such people within its scope.

eVisas are a key part of delivering a border and immigration system which will be more digital and streamlined by 2025, a change that will enhance the applicant’s experience, deliver excellent value, and increase the immigration system’s security and efficiency.

Successful EUSS applicants are given a UK Visas and Immigration account, which they can use to view and share their immigration status with others securely and in real-time. The Withdrawal Agreement explicitly allows for status to be provided in digital form. We will continue working towards a border and immigration system that is digital by default, and issuing immigration status in the form of an eVisa is part of this.

As with all such major change programmes, we are keeping our eVisa systems under review during the implementation period to identify and address any emerging issues.

eVisas are a key part of delivering a border and immigration system which will be more digital and streamlined by 2025, a change that will enhance the applicant’s experience, deliver excellent value, and increase the immigration system’s security and efficiency.

Successful EUSS applicants are given a UK Visas and Immigration account, which they can use to view and share their immigration status with others securely and in real-time. The Withdrawal Agreement explicitly allows for status to be provided in digital form. We will continue working towards a border and immigration system that is digital by default, and issuing immigration status in the form of an eVisa is part of this.

As with all such major change programmes, we are keeping our eVisa systems under review during the implementation period to identify and address any emerging issues.

Every town and city across the country has a vital contribution to make to our economy and we are committed to transferring power out of Westminster, and into local communities. We will give local leaders – including those in coastal communities – a range of new powers and tools to kickstart their economies and transform their neighbourhoods and high streets.

Our English Devolution Bill will support coastal communities, empowering them with a strong new ‘right to buy’ beloved community assets, such as empty shops, pubs, and community spaces. We will also introduce a registration scheme for short-term lets to protect the spirit and fabric of communities and let them reap the benefits of thriving tourism. Details of this, and future policy on holiday lets, will be published in due course.