Asked by: Lord Ravensdale (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they have put in place to enable venues such as the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham to stage national and international trade exhibitions and events.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My Department is taking a number of steps to support the reopening of the business events and exhibition sector.
We seek to reopen business events and conferences in Step 3, subject to a capacity cap. Attendees at outdoor business events will be capped at 50% capacity, up to 4,000 people. Attendees at indoor business events will be capped at 50% capacity, up to 1,000 people.
Step 3 will take place no earlier than 17 May, and at least five weeks after Step 2, following a further review of the data and the four tests.
As part of our efforts to get such events back in full operation, we have launched the Events Research Programme to explore when and how large events can return with reduced social distancing requirements.
The Government’s Covid-19 Secure guidance for the visitor economy will be kept up to date over the coming months, in line with the reopening process for the sector.
The Global Travel Taskforce reported on 9th April with recommendations aimed at facilitating a return to international travel as soon as possible, while still managing the risk from imported cases and variants of concern. We will confirm by early May if non-essential international travel can resume on 17 May.
Asked by: Lord Ravensdale (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for Visit England to encourage tourism in England; and what steps they intend to take to support the visitor economy after the restrictions in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic have ended.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government is taking a number of steps to encourage tourism once restrictions are eased. We are working with VisitBritain, VisitEngland and local partners to champion the UK’s diverse tourism offer through the Enjoy Summer Safely campaign.
We will continue to work with industry to provide assurance regarding when people can safely visit attractions - as demonstrated through the We’re Good to Go industry standard, which has been used by over 45,000 businesses. In addition, the £56 million Welcome Back Fund will help councils boost tourism, improve green spaces and provide more outdoor seating areas.
The Government is taking a number of steps to support the visitor economy’s recovery. The Global Travel Taskforce last year committed the Government to publish a Tourism Recovery Plan in support of the sector. The Government intends to set out proposals in the spring, including plans for a marketing campaign to welcome visitors back to the UK as soon as it is safe to do so.
Budget 2021 included £700m of extra funding to support our world-leading arts, culture and sporting institutions - protecting the venues which make London and the UK an attractive destination to visit.
In total, over £25bn has been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.