Music Festivals: Covid-19-related Cancellations

Lord McNally Excerpts
Tuesday 27th April 2021

(3 years, 7 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Barran Portrait Baroness Barran (Con)
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I am extremely happy to clarify those points. There are a number of interlocking issues—the noble Lord smiles, but it is true—into which we are carrying out reviews. I refer to the events research programme to understand the impact on public health as a result of those events; our review on social distancing; our review on certification and, which is connected, the global travel review.

Lord McNally Portrait Lord McNally (LD)
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My Lords, as the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, pointed out, the sector has already been impacted by the failure of the Brexit negotiations to protect the creative industries. In the Minister’s reply today, she did not say no—she said perhaps. Is it not time to stop squirming? We are now into April and this sector needs a decision.

Baroness Barran Portrait Baroness Barran (Con)
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We are not squirming and we are not hesitating. We are progressing as fast as we can, but the noble Lord would be the first to criticise the Government if we opened too early and the public health crisis re-emerged.