EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, with the alternative being no deal this deal had to be accepted, but there are significant problems with it that need to be addressed. In the short time we have to speak I will restrict my comments to the gaps in the deal that will cause significant problems for one of Britain’s most successful exports: our world-leading music industry. I agree wholeheartedly with the comments already made by the noble Baroness, Lady Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury.

The EU is the UK’s biggest overseas market for our £2.9 billion music export market. Despite this, the deal is a bad deal for our musicians and their crews to work and perform in the EU. It adds extra costs and a significant amount of bureaucracy.

I ask the noble Lord, Lord True: why did the EU reject including musicians in the agreement’s annexe on independent professionals explicitly allowed to work short term without a work permit? This omission means that UK musician seeking to work in the EU will be considered third-country nationals and will therefore need to meet the various requirements of each member state. Can you imagine the complexity of the paperwork for a touring 70-piece orchestra needing to secure a work permit for every person for every country visited on the tour? The level of additional red tape is huge, not to mention the additional costs now due through the requirement for an annual carnet, which costs hundreds of pounds for each musician travelling with an instrument or equipment.

The Government rightly committed to negotiate a reciprocal arrangement for UK musicians to tour the EU, so I ask the Minister: can this pledge still be honoured, and what steps are the Government now taking to overcome this devastating omission?