Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to update their COVID-19 guidelines to include professional musicians within the list of jobs qualifying for travel exemptions.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
At present there are no such exemptions available for musicians coming to the UK.
We continue to work with the cultural and creative sectors to explore all options to support them through this challenging period, including on proposals for exemptions from quarantine. We are continuing to work with the Department for Transport on proposals for an exemption for Performing Arts professionals.
All decisions about exemptions and other measures will need to be considered in light of the wider public health context and the bar for exemptions remains very high.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Barran on 10 September (HL Deb, col 911), what plans they have to seek a Mode IV agreement with the EU to cover musicians and music professionals; and whether any such agreement would enable musicians to travel between the UK and the EU for performing, recording, teaching, or collaborating at short notice and for short periods of time.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Our cultural and creative sectors are one of the UK’s greatest success stories and the music industry is a major contributor to this. The Government recognises the importance of the continued mobility of musicians and music professionals.
As set out in Our approach to the Future Relationship with the EU, the Government is seeking reciprocal mobility arrangements with the EU in a defined number of areas. For example, to allow business professionals to provide certain services, visa-free. This is in line with the arrangements that the UK might want to offer other close trading partners in future, where they support new and deep trade deals.
Although we cannot preempt the outcome of ongoing negotiations, we will continue our close dialogue with the sector to ensure that the Government is kept well informed of the needs of the music sector.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that there is full consultation across the performing arts sector on any Government-commissioned research into managing risks arising from COVID-19 in the performing arts.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is a priority of my department to work with the arts and cultural sectors to address the challenges of reopening. We are committed to getting the performing arts sector fully back up and running as soon as it is safe to do so. We have published guidance to support the performing arts to engage in activity safely. This guidance was extensively consulted upon and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/performing-arts We continue to work closely with the sector to understand further measures that can be used to help the safety of all who engage in the performing arts.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Barran on 3 June (HL Deb, col 1360), on what basis they consider that a touring visa is not "legally possible".
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In my response to The Earl of Clancarty in Parliament on 3 June, I said that a touring visa as he proposed was not “legally possible”.
I am afraid that this could have been phrased more accurately. While a visa of the kind he proposed is not legally impossible, the legal arrangements of the EU make it less negotiable, and each individual EU member state retains the right to caveat the third-party mobility arrangements negotiated at an EU-wide level. We are not asking for a special, bespoke, or unique deal. We are looking for a deal like the free trade agreements the EU has previously struck with other friendly countries such as Canada.
We recognise that music and the performing arts are culturally and economically crucial industries. Through negotiations with the EU on Mobility and Mode IV we are exploring how we can provide greater certainty to these industries in the future through reciprocal provisions based on best precedent.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial support being provided to the cultural, creative and media sectors in Germany; what plans they have, if any, to introduce a specific financial support package for the cultural, creative and media sectors in the UK; and what representations they have received in relation to such support.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has noted international responses to support the creative, cultural and media sectors. Direct comparisons are difficult, as the sectors and the measures taken are different in each country. We are considering international examples as we continue to work with arm’s-length bodies, sector representatives, and individual organisations to understand the impact of COVID-19 and what support is needed. DCMS Ministers are in regular touch with creative, cultural and media organisations through regular roundtable sessions, including the Recreation and Leisure Taskforce announced recently to coordinate safe reopening.
Germany has announced a significant package for the self-employed and small businesses. That includes those in the cultural sector, but is not limited to them. Similarly, the UK's support covers all sectors and the creative and cultural industries have benefited from unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency including almost £300 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. The cultural, creative and media sectors can access a range of support measures including:
A 12-month business rates holiday for all eligible retail, leisure and hospitality businesses in England
The retail, hospitality and leisure grant fund (RHLGF)Small business grant funding (SBGF) of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief 8 million jobs have now been furloughed with £11.1 billion claimed so far through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
2 million Self-employment Income Support (SEISS) claims have been submitted worth £6.1 billion.
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) has seen 40,564 loans worth £7.25 billion approved so far.
The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) has seen 86 approved loans totalling £0.59 billion.
Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) has seen 464,393 approved loans so far worth £14.18 billion for small businesses.
VAT deferral for up to 12 months
The Time To Pay scheme, through which businesses in financial distress, and with outstanding tax liabilities, can receive support with their tax affairs
Protection for commercial leaseholders against automatic forfeiture for non-payment until June 30, 2020
There were 4.2m people on Universal Credit on 9 April, with 1.5m claims made in the period 13 March 2020 to 9 April 2020.
The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, when the schemes open and how to apply - https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support.
Separately, the Arts Council England has made £160 million of emergency funding available specifically for the arts and culture sectors, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund £50 million to heritage and museums organisations, originally with grants of between £3,000 and £50,000 available and now with grants of £50,000 to £250,000.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of (1) individuals and (2) organisations working in the creative industries who will be eligible for the emergency funding being made available by Arts Council England in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including through the funding being provided to National Portfolio Organisations and Creative People and Places lead organisations.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
While the Government has not made a specific assessment of the proportion of professionals working in the creative industries that are eligible, it has worked with the Arts Council to ensure that the application process was as simple as possible and to encourage as many applications as possible.
So long as an applicant has experience of delivering publicly funded work, and fits the Arts Council’s definition of ‘creative practitioner’ (writers, translators, producers, editors, educators, directors and designers in the disciplines and artforms they support, as well as choreographers, composers, visual artists, craft makers and curators), they are eligible.
The Arts Council received a total of 13,684 applications from independent cultural organisations and individual practitioners to the first two elements of their Emergency Response funds.
In detail, this breaks down to 3,391 applications from organisations and 10,293 applications from individuals. The Arts Council will be publishing the details of how they have awarded this funding at the beginning of June, once all the decisions have been made and applicants notified.
The third element of their Emergency Response funds, for National Portfolio Organisations and Creative People and Places lead organisations, closes on 19 May.
All of the Arts Council’s 840 National Portfolio Organisations and 30 Creative People and Places lead organisations were eligible to apply to that fund. The Arts Council will be publishing details of how they’ve awarded this funding at the beginning of July.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the EU’s funding contribution to the UK’s arts, heritage and creative industries will be fully replaced; and, if so, what funding schemes will enable this.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government remains committed to supporting the UK’s thriving cultural and creative economy. We will continue to invest money directly into the UK's cultural and creative sectors, continuing to support and grow their world-class activity on the international stage.
Now we have taken back control of our money, we are able to focus spending on domestic priorities including on our world class arts, heritage and creative industries. Any new spending will be a consideration for the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Minister for Sport, Media and Creative Industries on 21 January (HC Deb, col 56WH) that the Government welcomes the views "of the industry on movement within Europe", how the music industry can share such views.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The music industry is a major success story for the UK. The government recognises the importance of the continued mobility of talented individuals and groups to support cultural and creative cooperation and the continued growth of the sector.
My department continues to engage on a regular basis with representatives from the music industry at both Ministerial and official level, through bilateral meetings, roundtable discussions, written correspondence, industry events and conferences. This includes the government’s trade advisory committees that help inform international trade policy, and at which the music sector is of course represented.
Furthermore, DCMS has facilitated engagement between the sector and other departments in order to ensure that their views are understood at all levels of government.
We value the contributions made by the sector this far, and welcome their involvement going forward.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Minister for Sport, Media and Creative Industries on 21 January (HC Deb, col 56WH) that “it is essential that free movement is protected for artists post 2020”, how they intend to protect such free movement; and whether such protection will cover freelance workers in other creative and specialist fields.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The UK’s creative industries deliver around 12 per cent of the UK’s total exports in services, and have grown rapidly in recent years. The government is committed to ensuring this growth continues.
DCMS has engaged extensively with union bodies, artists and cultural organisations to help understand the needs of the creative and cultural sector, including freelancers who make up a significant proportion of people in these sectors.
Recognising the depth of the UK-EU relationship, the UK is seeking reciprocal mobility arrangements with the EU in a defined number of areas. For example, to allow business professionals to provide services, or tourists to continue to travel visa-free. This is in line with the arrangements that the UK might want to offer other close trading partners in future, where they support new and deep trade deals. This is subject to wider negotiations with the EU.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure ongoing equivalent funding for literary translation after the current Creative Europe funding scheme comes to an end in 2020.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The UK recognises the importance of such funding programmes to the creative and cultural sectors and is committed to continuing cultural collaboration between the UK and EU. Where possible, we will continue to participate in EU programmes where there is mutual benefit to the UK and the EU. Ultimately, this will be determined as part of the future partnership negotiations.
We will continue to support the arts through our funding of Arts Council England and through programmes such as the Cultural Development Fund, which show our ongoing dedication to supporting our thriving cultural sector.