Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the Government plans to publish its next steps following the consultation on changes to permitted development rights for electronic communications infrastructure.
Answered by Matt Warman
The technical consultation on changes to permitted development rights for electronic communications infrastructure in England closed on 14 June 2021. We are now considering the responses to the consultation and the Government will publish its response in due course.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received from the Let Live Thrive Campaign for live events in the UK.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We have not received any representations from the Let Live Thrive Campaign regardings live events in the UK.
The Secretary of State announced an unprecedented £1.57 billion support package for the cultural sector which will benefit the live events sector by providing support to music venues and many other cultural organisations to stay open and continue operating.
We continue to engage with the sector to discuss the on-going challenges facing the industry.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received from (a) sporting clubs, (b) theatres, (c) exhibition groups and (d) other event operators on Government support for the contingency insurance market during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector on its response to this unprecedented situation. We encourage businesses experiencing financial difficulty to research the initiatives in the Government’s support package such as the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Our schemes are continuously under review to make sure our schemes are accessible, fair and targeted to help those who need it the most.
DCMS also regularly engages with businesses and sector representative bodies in order to properly understand the issues being faced as well as to develop means of offering support. Over recent months DCMS has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders such as Sport England, Society of London Theatre, UK Theatre and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel.
Some of the support the government has offered includes the unprecedented £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund - the largest ever one-off investment in culture - to help countless organisations weather the COVID storm; and the £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme, which will assist the film and TV production sectors who are ready to return to work, but are precluded from doing so by the difficulties they face obtaining insurance cover for Covid-19. The scheme will be available to compensate Film and TV productions after they have restarted, and where costs are then incurred due to delays or abandonment as a result of Coronavirus.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what priority his Department plans to accord to supporting the recovery of (a) theatres, (b) the exhibitions sector, (c) the sporting tournaments sector and (d) live industries ahead of the summer 2021 season; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We are aware of the struggles of the entire events industry and their supply chain, and DCMS prioritises all of our sectors. We are working hard to provide financial support for all sectors, with businesses being able to access the Government’s UK wide support package. We are dedicated to helping all of our sectors survive the winter months ahead.
As part of the Government’s 5 stage roadmap to get performing arts and live entertainment sectors back up and running as soon as possible, venues and organisations are able to put on live performances in front of a socially-distanced audience in line with the latest Covid secure guidance.
Similarly, the exhibitions sector will be allowed to continue hosting events providing that they follow all Covid-19 Secure guidance. This guidance has been developed by the Events Industry Forum in collaboration with DCMS so local authorities can safely host a multitude of events.
Sport England have announced a £195 million package of support to help community clubs through this crisis. It recently boosted its Community Emergency Fund by a further £15 million to meet the demand, taking the total package up to £210 million. We will return spectators to elite and professional sports events when it is safe to do so.
We have already saved 135 grassroots music venues from imminent collapse. Arts Council England and other DCMS arms-length bodies are currently assessing thousands of applications from other organisations, and successful applicants will be informed from October. We are committed to ensuring that live performances will be fully back up and running when it is safe to do so.