Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the levels of Orchestra Tax Relief.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Secretary of State has regular conversations with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a number of issues, including creative tax reliefs.
As announced at the Spring Budget earlier this year, His Majesty’s Government has extended the current headline rates of Orchestra Tax Relief. The rates for Orchestra Tax Relief will remain at 50% for expenditure taking place from 1 April 2023, reducing to 35% from 1 April 2025 and returning to 25% from 1 April 2026. As of August 2023, £75 million has been paid out relating to 740 claims. This represents 2,940 productions.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has held discussions with (a) artist representatives and (b) live music businesses on the report by the Competition and Markets Authority entitled Secondary Ticketing, published on 16 August 2021.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
Officials at the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and at the Department for Business & Trade engage with a number of key organisations and people operating in the ticketing and live music sectors on the opportunities and challenges facing the sectors, including in relation to ticketing and the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA's) report on enforcement of the secondary ticketing market. This engagement has included STAR (the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers, the self-regulatory body for the entertainment ticketing industry in the UK), the CMA, Fanfair Alliance (the campaigning body against industrial scale online ticket touting), and the live music sector.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of rules on spending 90 days in any 180 day period in the Schengen area on the income of UK musicians touring in Europe.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Ministers and officials regularly engage with industry and ministerial colleagues from other departments on issues facing creative and cultural sectors.
The government is committed to supporting touring artists and the wider music industry to adapt to new arrangements following our departure from the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify what creative workers need to do, noting that the vast majority of EU Member States, including the biggest touring markets such as Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for some short-term touring activities. The Government also launched an Export Support Service where UK businesses, including touring professionals, can access advice and guidance.
We will continue to engage with industry to understand challenges facing the live music sector and options to address these issues.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the UK music industry.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Ministers and officials regularly engage with industry and ministerial colleagues from other departments on issues facing creative and cultural sectors.
The government is committed to supporting touring artists and the wider music industry to adapt to new arrangements following our departure from the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify what creative workers need to do, noting that the vast majority of EU Member States, including the biggest touring markets such as Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for some short-term touring activities. The Government also launched an Export Support Service where UK businesses, including touring professionals, can access advice and guidance.
We will continue to engage with industry to understand challenges facing the live music sector and options to address these issues.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on reducing the cost of the ATA Carnet for cultural goods.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Ministers and officials regularly engage with industry and ministerial colleagues from other departments on issues facing creative and cultural sectors.
The government is committed to supporting touring artists and the wider music industry to adapt to new arrangements following our departure from the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify what creative workers need to do, noting that the vast majority of EU Member States, including the biggest touring markets such as Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for some short-term touring activities. The Government also launched an Export Support Service where UK businesses, including touring professionals, can access advice and guidance.
We will continue to engage with industry to understand challenges facing the live music sector and options to address these issues.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in the use of automated technology by secondary ticketing websites on consumer choice.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
We have strengthened the law in relation to ticketing information requirements and have introduced a specific criminal offence of using automated software to buy more tickets online than is allowed. We also support the work of enforcement agencies in this area, such as the Competition and Markets Authority, National Trading Standards, and the advertising industry's own regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority.
The Department for Business and Trade has responsibility for policy on consumer protection and its enforcement, in partnership with National Trading Standards and the Competition and Markets Authority, whilst the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) leads on the specific area of secondary ticketing for DCMS-related events (sport, live music, theatre, etc.).
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times (a) Ministers and (b) officials from her Department have met representatives from (i) secondary ticketing websites and (ii) the music industry to discuss the price of ticket resales on online platforms in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
We engage with a range of key organisations and individuals operating in the ticketing sector to ensure a fair and transparent system. This includes STAR (the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers, the self-regulatory body for the entertainment ticketing industry in the UK), the Competition and Markets Authority, Fanfair Alliance (the campaigning body against industrial scale online ticket touting), and, where appropriate, primary and secondary ticketing businesses.
We are in regular discussions with all parts of the music industry to understand the opportunities for growth and challenges facing the sector, including ticketing.
Ministers and officials have had no meetings with either Viagogo or Stubhub in the last twelve months. It should be noted that officials have met with Stubhub International, a separate company to Stubhub, in the last twelve months to discuss general ticketing issues.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have met representatives from (i) ViaGoGo and (ii) StubHub in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
We engage with a range of key organisations and individuals operating in the ticketing sector to ensure a fair and transparent system. This includes STAR (the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers, the self-regulatory body for the entertainment ticketing industry in the UK), the Competition and Markets Authority, Fanfair Alliance (the campaigning body against industrial scale online ticket touting), and, where appropriate, primary and secondary ticketing businesses.
We are in regular discussions with all parts of the music industry to understand the opportunities for growth and challenges facing the sector, including ticketing.
Ministers and officials have had no meetings with either Viagogo or Stubhub in the last twelve months. It should be noted that officials have met with Stubhub International, a separate company to Stubhub, in the last twelve months to discuss general ticketing issues.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made a comparative assessment of the protection available to consumers buying tickets in the UK with those available to consumers in the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
We have strengthened the law in relation to ticketing information requirements and have introduced a criminal offence of using automated software to buy more tickets online than is allowed. We also support the work of enforcement agencies in this area, such as the Competition and Markets Authority, National Trading Standards, and the advertising industry's own regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority.
We are aware that other countries, including Ireland, have their own legislative measures relating to consumer protection, including for the sale and resale of tickets for live events. We carry out ongoing monitoring of the legislative landscape in the ticketing market and in the light of technological, enforcement and other market developments, but agree with the recommendation in the Competition and Markets Authority’s 2021 report on secondary ticketing that there should not be a ban on the uncapped secondary ticket market.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in the construction of buildings operated under its remit.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Survey work is underway. For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. This work is being coordinated by the Office for Government Property.