Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Bryant Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

2. What steps her Department is taking to support the television industry in Wales.

[The Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism (Chris Bryant)]

I am glad to say that we have a thriving TV industry in Wales. We have not only our own broadcaster, S4C, but phenomenal studios, including Dragon Studios just outside my constituency, where “Willow” was produced with the magnificent Warwick Davis. And, above all, we have “Gavin and Stacey”.

I know that it is completely out of order, Mr Speaker, but can I say thank you to Dawn in the Tea Room, who is retiring today?

[Ann Davies]

Diolch, Mr Llefarydd. Only 41.9% of my constituency of Caerfyrddin has gigabit availability, compared with the UK average of 78.5%. In fact, 2.6% of my constituency has very little broadband at all. While more and more people use on-demand and internet-based TV services, many still have to rely on terrestrial TV to watch their favourite Welsh programmes. Will the Minister support the TV industry in Wales and reassure viewers in my constituency that broadcast TV will remain available for them all to enjoy?

[Mr Speaker]

The series will be over.

[Chris Bryant]

I think it is a three-part series, Mr Speaker. I commend the hon. Lady on managing to get gigabit-capable broadband, which is my other responsibility as a Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Minister, into this session. We are determined to try to make sure that across her constituency, everybody is able to take part in the digital future. Incidentally, that is why we published a digital inclusion strategy yesterday, which I very much hope all Members will support.

[Liz Jarvis (Eastleigh) (LD)]

3. What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the cost of electronic travel authorisations on inbound tourism.

[The Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism (Chris Bryant)]

We are absolutely determined to reach our goal of 50 million international visitors to the UK by 2030. I am very hopeful that the electronic travel authorisation system will be simpler and make it easier and safer for people to visit the UK in the coming years.

[Liz Jarvis]

Our travel, tourism and hospitality sectors continue to face huge challenges, yet the Home Office’s own impact assessment of the 60% increase in electronic travel authorisation fees concluded that it could reduce the number of tourists wanting to come here and result in a loss of revenue to the wider economy of £734.7 million over five years. If the Government are to succeed in achieving the inbound tourism target of 50 million by 2030, would an agreement between the EU and the UK to facilitate easier travel not be a good place to start?

[Chris Bryant]

I am absolutely delighted that even the Liberal Democrats are citing our target of 50 million international visitors by 2030; we have got that into this session three times now. The hon. Lady is right—of course we have to bear in mind all the issues that could affect those numbers. I do not know whether she has seen the recent video produced by VisitBritain, “Starring GREAT Britain”, which includes film clips from James Bond, Tom Cruise and many others, but we are determined, through the visitor economy advisory council, to make sure that we reach those numbers. We will work with the Home Office to try to mitigate the problems that we may have.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)]

According to VisitBritain, the estimated value of inbound tourism in 2024 will be in the region of £31.5 billion, so it is a huge economic contributor to the United Kingdom. When speaking to tourism businesses that rely on seasonal tourism, alongside the rising cost of ETAs, they express great concern that the reduction in national insurance thresholds and the rise in employer national insurance contributions mean that many more workers will be caught in a damaging tax trap. It will mean that businesses have to reconsider how many people—many of them young, and many of them in their first jobs—they can employ while remaining profitable. Does the Minister have an impact assessment of the effect of those NI rises, and what does it say about how many jobs will be created or lost as a result of Labour’s jobs tax trap?

[Chris Bryant]

One of the problems with the Conservatives is that they want us to endlessly spend more money on things, but they do not want to find the money that enables us to afford that expenditure. There are lots of things that affect the tourism industry in the UK —incidentally, I think the hon. Gentleman mistook his millions for his billions in what he said—but it is really important that we look at how we can extend the season in the UK and make sure that more international visitors do not just come to London and the south-east, but go to places across the whole of the United Kingdom. That is precisely the kind of thing that I hope we will be able to incorporate into our national tourism strategy this autumn. It will be the first time that the UK has ever had one.

[Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West) (Lab)]

4. What steps she is taking to help improve the sustainability of lower league football clubs in Wolverhampton West constituency.

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[Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)]

9. What steps her Department is taking to support small theatres and performing arts venues.

[The Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism (Chris Bryant)]

We are absolutely committed to supporting small and large theatres across the UK. It is one reason why we have specifically announced capital funding, as the Secretary of State has said, of £85 million for theatre and other cultural infrastructure across the UK.

[Josh Newbury]

I thank the Minister for that response. In my constituency, formerly represented by the great Jennie Lee, the council-owned theatre and museum are due to close in just two months’ time. Passionate members of our community have come together to form the Cannock Chase Theatre Trust and the Chase Heritage CIC to save these precious venues. Will the Minister join me in thanking those groups for all their efforts, and will he set out how the Government are supporting such community groups to take on culture and heritage venues at risk?

[Chris Bryant]

I commend my hon. Friend and all those who have engaged as volunteers to try to take over the theatre and run it in an effective way. I look forward to the first production; after all, “The play’s the thing”— I saw “Hamlet” last week, and “Richard II” twice. The most important thing is that we try to ensure that young people have an opportunity to act and have a creative education in their school, and that there are local theatres and other venues where they are able to see really high-quality live entertainment, such as in the theatre he is talking about. I am very happy to ensure that officials meet his volunteers.

[John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)]

On Monday, I met the director of Salisbury playhouse. She warmly welcomed the £85 million creative foundations fund, which she thought would be highly applicable to Salisbury playhouse, one of the few producing theatres in the south-west. She also told me about the 5,600 local children who were given subsidised tickets up to Christmas, and about her commitment to go out and raise funds from local investors in the arts. Will the Minister ensure that the value of the £85 million is maximised by combining it with visionary leaders like Rosa Corbishley at Salisbury playhouse, who will go out and get more money for the arts in our community?

[Chris Bryant]

The right hon. Gentleman used to be in the Treasury, so he is very good at making financial bids and I think he has just made a bid on behalf of Salisbury’s theatre. We warmly commend the work it is doing. As I have said, it is brilliant if we can get lots of kids coming into theatres. I want every single child, as part of their education, to be able to see live theatre and live music, because that is a part of what stirs their creative opportunities in life. Yes, we are looking at whether there are other ways of bringing in not only commercial money but philanthropic money to try to match-fund the funding that can come from government.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

10. Whether her Department plans to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Formula 1.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism (Chris Bryant)]

I would be absolutely delighted to come to St Kilda. I think there are quite a lot of Members who would quite like to send me to St Kilda for a very prolonged period. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] It is nice to unite the House, isn’t it? You’re so cruel!

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. The archipelago of St Kilda is unique. Since the last 36 people left in 1930, it has been run by the National Trust. As he says, it is a double UNESCO world heritage site and we want to ensure that we make the best of it—

[Mr Speaker]

It is topicals folks, thank you. I call the shadow Minister.

--- Later in debate ---

[Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)]

T6.  Alongside our theatre and museum, which I mentioned earlier, Cannock also has brilliant small music venues, such as The Station, all of which give our budding actors, museum curators and musicians a foot on the ladder. However, we still long for the opportunities that are open to children in other parts of the country. Will the Minister set out what discussions he has had with colleagues on routes into creative sectors for our young people?

[Chris Bryant]

Yesterday I met people from LIVE, and we are still very keen on trying to ensure that there is a levy on arena tickets to make provision for small music venues across the UK. That is where most young people will have their first experience of live music. We are determined to get there as soon as possible.

I would just like to correct the record, Mr Speaker. I said earlier that the £85 million would apply across the whole of the UK. I was wrong, of course—it is only England.

[Mr Speaker]

More money for us.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

T4.   Four years ago, the StAnza poetry festival experienced difficulties bringing EU creatives over to perform in St Andrews, and those issues still exist. I note the Secretary of State’s response to my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson), but more than warm words are needed. When will we see a timescale on improving the situation?

[Chris Bryant]

As the Secretary of State referred to, I had that conversation yesterday, and I think a lot of people in the European Union and Commission are keen to reset their relationship with the UK, in particular in this regard. I will not name the European Minister, but when I sat down opposite him and asked, “What’s the most important thing I can do for you?”, he replied, “Get me tickets for Oasis.” I think it is very important that people are able to see our great musicians touring across the whole of Europe.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

T7. One thousand musical acts from Annie Lennox to Zero 7 have released an album of blank tracks, which is where they feel the text and data mining exception is leading. Will my right hon. and hon. Friends look into this, so that Great British creativity is not replaced with AI butchery?

[Chris Bryant]

I think Kate Bush was running up that hill, too. Look, the truth of the matter is, as I have said many times, that we will not progress in this area unless we are absolutely certain that we will secure more licensing of content by British creatives, rather than less. That is absolutely key to what would be success for us. I hope that people will take us at face value on that.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

T5. Mr Speaker, I am afraid that I do not have a song title to go with this question. [Hon. Members: “Oh, no!”] Bath council’s spending on youth services has declined by 82% since 2010, according to a recent YMCA report. With the cancellation of the National Citizen Service, can the Minister tell us whether the money will be reallocated to support new services in areas such as mine?