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Written Question
Theatres: Coronavirus
Monday 19th April 2021

Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of local councils’ ability to fund local and regional theatres following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

14% of theatres in the UK are directly operated by local authorities and many more are owned by and subsidised by local authorities.

The Theatres Trust has provided details of six theatre buildings where the operator has either withdrawn from their operating contract or gone into liquidation, leaving them without an operator since the start of the pandemic. These theatres are not necessarily closed permanently as efforts are progressing to identify new operators. DCMS does not collect any further data in this area.

In January, the Chancellor announced £4.6 billion in one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring. This is in addition to £1.1 billion further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities, and Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month. So far, more than £1 billion has been allocated to thousands of organisations including theatres.

Theatres have also benefited from the Cultural Recovery Fund. To date, over £1.2 billion has been allocated from this fund, reaching over 5000 individual organisations and sites. Of this funding, awards with a value of over £183m were made to applicants whose main artform is ‘theatre’ in Round 1 recovery grant funding, and in Round 2 almost £60 million was awarded to help theatres survive and plan for reopening.

The Chancellor also announced in the 2021 Budget an additional £300 million to support theatres, museums and other cultural organisations in England through the Culture Recovery Fund. This extra funding, together with other cultural support such as funding for our national museums, means that our total support package for culture during the pandemic is now approaching £2bn.

The Government has also extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and the continued reduction in VAT, among other measures.


Written Question
Theatres: Closures
Monday 19th April 2021

Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the number of (a) regional, and (b) local, theatres that have permanently closed, and (2) the number of local authority areas that have lost their only performance venue, since March 2020.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

14% of theatres in the UK are directly operated by local authorities and many more are owned by and subsidised by local authorities.

The Theatres Trust has provided details of six theatre buildings where the operator has either withdrawn from their operating contract or gone into liquidation, leaving them without an operator since the start of the pandemic. These theatres are not necessarily closed permanently as efforts are progressing to identify new operators. DCMS does not collect any further data in this area.

In January, the Chancellor announced £4.6 billion in one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring. This is in addition to £1.1 billion further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities, and Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month. So far, more than £1 billion has been allocated to thousands of organisations including theatres.

Theatres have also benefited from the Cultural Recovery Fund. To date, over £1.2 billion has been allocated from this fund, reaching over 5000 individual organisations and sites. Of this funding, awards with a value of over £183m were made to applicants whose main artform is ‘theatre’ in Round 1 recovery grant funding, and in Round 2 almost £60 million was awarded to help theatres survive and plan for reopening.

The Chancellor also announced in the 2021 Budget an additional £300 million to support theatres, museums and other cultural organisations in England through the Culture Recovery Fund. This extra funding, together with other cultural support such as funding for our national museums, means that our total support package for culture during the pandemic is now approaching £2bn.

The Government has also extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and the continued reduction in VAT, among other measures.


Written Question
Theatres: Coronavirus
Tuesday 30th March 2021

Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ability of councils to fund local and regional theatres as a result of COVID-19.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The funding of local theatres consists of a complex ecosystem of funding streams, and government funds remain active, so assessing the success of these interventions is challenging at this stage.

In January, the Chancellor announced £4.6 billion in one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring. This is in addition to £1.1 billion further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities, and Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month.

So far, more than £1 billion has been allocated to thousands of organisations including museums, music venues, independent cinemas, circuses, heritage sites and theatres. For reference, info on the local grants eligibility here (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-coronavirus-additional-restrictions-grant) - a copy of the webpage is attached. In addition, over £10 billion of support has also been provided through unprecedented business rate holidays.

The Government is committed to supporting our world-leading cultural and entertainment sectors, demonstrated through £300m additional funding made available in the budget to support the Culture Recovery Fund, on top of the £1.57bn provided in July.


Written Question
Theatres: Coronavirus
Tuesday 30th March 2021

Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of regional and local theatres that have permanently closed since March 2020; and the number of areas that have lost their only performance venue since March 2020.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Government recognises the significant financial impact of Covid 19 on the performing arts sector and venues, and the important role theatres play in their local communities. 14% of theatres in the UK are directly operated by local authorities and many more are owned by and subsidised by local authorities. The Theatres Trust has provided details of six theatre buildings where the operator has either withdrawn from their operating contract or gone into liquidation, leaving them without an operator since the start of the pandemic. These theatres are not necessarily closed permanently as efforts are progressing to identify new operators.The Theatres Trust is aware of a small number of further closures, with more details to be published in due course.

The Government is investing an unprecedented £1.57 billion, the biggest ever one-off cash injection into UK culture, to tackle the crisis facing our most loved arts organisations and heritage sites through the Culture Recovery Fund. In the first round of funding, 462 awards were made to applicants whose main artform is ‘theatre’, with a value of over £183m. The number of awards to commercial theatres was 79, with a value of over £26m. This funding benefited a range of theatre organisations, from world-renowned institutions to those crucial to their local community.

The second round is in progress, and a further £300 million of support was announced by HM Treasury at Spring budget to continue to support key cultural organisations, bridge the sector as audiences begin to return, and ensure a vibrant future for the culture sector, including theatres, as the nation recovers from the pandemic.


Written Question
Huawei: 5G
Friday 16th October 2020

Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring forward their deadline for removing Huawei from UK 5G networks by 2027.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The 2027 Huawei removal date has been set taking into account our specific national circumstances and how the risks from US sanctions to telecoms networks are manifested in the UK.

To go further and faster beyond a 2027 target would add considerable - and unnecessary - costs and delays to 5G rollout. And the shorter we make the timetable for removal, the greater the risk of actual disruption to mobile telecoms networks.


Written Question
Leisure: Coronavirus
Friday 11th September 2020

Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the public leisure centre sector to avoid (1) further redundancies, and (2) the closure of public leisure facilities in local communities.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. It is important that leisure centres remain accessible for people from all backgrounds as we make efforts to return to normality after the Covid lockdown period.

Outdoor swimming pools have been able to open from 11 July, and from 25 July indoor gyms, leisure centres (including sports halls) and swimming pools in England have been able to reopen. These facilities will be able to offer on-site services to customers, provided they are COVID-secure and follow Government guidance.

Sport England have announced a £210 million package of support to help community clubs through this crisis.

Specific support for local authorities was announced through the income guarantee scheme on Thursday 2 July by the Secretary of State for Local Government, aimed to support local authorities who have incurred irrecoverable loss of income from sales, fees and charge which they had reasonably budgeted for.


Written Question
Obesity
Friday 11th September 2020

Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance of leisure centres in addressing obesity; and what plans they have to provide additional support prior to the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. It is important that leisure centres remain accessible for people from all backgrounds as we make efforts to return to normality after the Covid lockdown period.

Outdoor swimming pools have been able to open from 11 July, and from 25 July indoor gyms, leisure centres (including sports halls) and swimming pools in England have been able to reopen. These facilities are able to offer on-site services to customers, provided they are COVID-secure and follow Government guidance.

Sport England have announced a £210 million package of support to help community clubs through this crisis.

Specific support for local authorities was announced through the income guarantee scheme on Thursday 2 July by the Secretary of State for Local Government, aimed to support local authorities who have incurred irrecoverable loss of income from sales, fees and charge which they had reasonably budgeted for.


Written Question
Pornography: Internet
Friday 24th July 2020

Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the proposals set out in their initial response to the consultation on the Online Harms White Paper, published on 12 February, what are the “reasonable steps” that pornography websites must take to protect children.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Our Online Harms proposals will deliver a higher level of protection for children than for the typical adult user. As we set out in the initial response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation on 12 February, we expect companies to use a proportionate range of tools, including age assurance and age verification technologies, to prevent children accessing age-inappropriate content such as online pornography, and to protect them from other harms.


Written Question
Covid-19 Recreation and Leisure Taskforce
Wednesday 24th June 2020

Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government why there is no representation from local government on the COVID-19 taskforce on Recreation and Leisure.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Cultural Renewal Taskforce has been established to support the renewal of DCMS sectors and to help the development of new COVID-19 secure guidelines for the reopening of places and businesses in these sectors, where and when it is safe to do so.

The Taskforce is made up of individuals and organisations from across DCMS sectors, presenting a broad range of views and backgrounds. The organisations vary not only by size and scale, but are also representative of organisations with sector interests across the country.

To support the Cultural Renewal Taskforce and the development of guidelines, DCMS has also set up eight sectoral Working Groups, which are ministerially led. While there are a limited number of members of the Cultural Renewal Taskforce, each Working Group has broad membership covering a range of relevant organisations and representative bodies for relevant sectors.

The Local Government Association directly represents local government as a member of the Working Groups for Museums and Galleries, Library Services, Sport and Youth.


Written Question
Tourism: Taxation
Thursday 6th February 2020

Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of allowing local authorities to introduce a discretionary Tourism Levy to raise funds for local services.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

We are aware of the broad range of views held on the notion of a discretionary tourism levy.

The UK Government has a number of concerns about the introduction of any kind of Tourism Tax. Tax is a matter for the Treasury who routinely review the tax regime of the country. We would therefore recommend any interested stakeholders engage with Her Majesty’s Treasury.