Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Austrian Government to agree bespoke bilateral arrangements for UK musicians seeking to tour in Austria without restrictions.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government is committed to supporting the UK’s creative industries, including musicians, to adapt to new arrangements with the EU.
We have worked extensively with the sector and directly with EU Member States, including Austria and Belgium, to clarify arrangements on the movement of people, goods and haulage. We have worked across government and with industry to develop guidance including ‘landing pages’ on GOV.UK specifically for touring musicians and other creative sectors.
Visa and work permit requirements vary from Member State to Member State, and travellers should always check what requirements they need to fulfil with the EU Member State they are travelling to. That is why we have worked with Member States to ensure their guidance is clear and accessible, and why we have published general business traveller summaries for each Member State on GOV.UK.
More broadly, we have confirmed that:
Nearly all Member States offer visa and work permit free routes for musicians and creative performers.
Portable musical instruments, carried or in a vehicle, can be transported cost-free and should not require ATA Carnets; and
Small ‘splitter vans’ are not subject to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement limits around haulage for the creative sectors and ‘cross trade’. In addition, the Government has introduced dual registration to support specialist hauliers, meaning they can benefit from more generous market access arrangements in Great Britain and the EU.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what bilateral arrangements are in place for UK musicians seeking to tour in Austria.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government is committed to supporting the UK’s creative industries, including musicians, to adapt to new arrangements with the EU.
We have worked extensively with the sector and directly with EU Member States, including Austria and Belgium, to clarify arrangements on the movement of people, goods and haulage. We have worked across government and with industry to develop guidance including ‘landing pages’ on GOV.UK specifically for touring musicians and other creative sectors.
Visa and work permit requirements vary from Member State to Member State, and travellers should always check what requirements they need to fulfil with the EU Member State they are travelling to. That is why we have worked with Member States to ensure their guidance is clear and accessible, and why we have published general business traveller summaries for each Member State on GOV.UK.
More broadly, we have confirmed that:
Nearly all Member States offer visa and work permit free routes for musicians and creative performers.
Portable musical instruments, carried or in a vehicle, can be transported cost-free and should not require ATA Carnets; and
Small ‘splitter vans’ are not subject to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement limits around haulage for the creative sectors and ‘cross trade’. In addition, the Government has introduced dual registration to support specialist hauliers, meaning they can benefit from more generous market access arrangements in Great Britain and the EU.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she last met representatives of the music industry to discuss UK musicians touring in the EU.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting the creative sector to adapt to new arrangements with the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify arrangements, press for specific changes from Member States, and introduce unilateral measures where possible.
Ministers and officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) engage with the music sector regularly through bilateral meetings and visits, discussing a range of issues, including touring.
This engagement includes meetings with industry and relevant departments on specific issues around touring, such as with the Department for Transport on haulage issues or DEFRA on CITES certificates. It also includes the DCMS-led touring group, which met most recently in June 2022, with attendance from the DCMS Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure, officials from across government and devolved authorities, and representatives of the creative and cultural sectors.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the potential impact of the Arts Council England funding decision to reduce the English National Opera’s grant on levelling up.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ministers and officials regularly meet their counterparts across His Majesty’s Government to discuss shared priorities, including how cultural investment and policy can support levelling up. There have been no recent discussions between the Secretaries of State on this issue specifically.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether Arts Council England have made an estimate of the (a) number of people employed by the English National Opera and (b) proportion of those employees who would be able to move out of London.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Decisions on issues relating to staff employment and location are always made by organisations independently of both HM Government and Arts Council England. Arts Council England is, however, currently working with the English National Opera on possibilities for the future of the organisation.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) Arts Council England, (b) the English National Opera and (c) any other external organisation on funding settlements made by Arts Council England before the announcement of 4 November 2022.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Arts Council England (ACE) provided the English National Opera (ENO) with £12,607,792 of public funding in 2021/22 and 2022/23 through its 2018–22 Investment Programme. Decisions about which organisations to fund in its Investment Programme, and by how much, are taken by Arts Council England alone. As part of its decisions regarding the 2023–26 Investment Programme, Arts Council England has offered the English National Opera £17 million to help it transition from its current model and explore a new future.
I can confirm that all decisions on which organisations to fund through the 2023–26 Investment Programme and their precise allocations have been taken by Arts Council England.
As the Cabinet Minister responsible for arts and culture, the Secretary of State regularly meets Arts Council England, which is an arms-length body of the Department. She met Arts Council England officials to discuss the overall process, outcome and plan for announcement on 2 November. However, the Secretary of State held no meetings with the English National Opera or any other external organisation to discuss this Investment Programme’s funding settlements prior to its announcement.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of opening a new opera house in a town or city outside of London.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Arts Council England (ACE) provided the English National Opera (ENO) with £12,607,792 of public funding in 2021/22 and 2022/23 through its 2018–22 Investment Programme. Decisions about which organisations to fund in its Investment Programme, and by how much, are taken by Arts Council England alone. As part of its decisions regarding the 2023–26 Investment Programme, Arts Council England has offered the English National Opera £17 million to help it transition from its current model and explore a new future.
I can confirm that all decisions on which organisations to fund through the 2023–26 Investment Programme and their precise allocations have been taken by Arts Council England.
As the Cabinet Minister responsible for arts and culture, the Secretary of State regularly meets Arts Council England, which is an arms-length body of the Department. She met Arts Council England officials to discuss the overall process, outcome and plan for announcement on 2 November. However, the Secretary of State held no meetings with the English National Opera or any other external organisation to discuss this Investment Programme’s funding settlements prior to its announcement.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to undertake a review of the level of funding that will be provided by Arts Council England to the English National Opera between 2023 and 2026.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Arts Council England (ACE) provided the English National Opera (ENO) with £12,607,792 of public funding in 2021/22 and 2022/23 through its 2018–22 Investment Programme. Decisions about which organisations to fund in its Investment Programme, and by how much, are taken by Arts Council England alone. As part of its decisions regarding the 2023–26 Investment Programme, Arts Council England has offered the English National Opera £17 million to help it transition from its current model and explore a new future.
I can confirm that all decisions on which organisations to fund through the 2023–26 Investment Programme and their precise allocations have been taken by Arts Council England.
As the Cabinet Minister responsible for arts and culture, the Secretary of State regularly meets Arts Council England, which is an arms-length body of the Department. She met Arts Council England officials to discuss the overall process, outcome and plan for announcement on 2 November. However, the Secretary of State held no meetings with the English National Opera or any other external organisation to discuss this Investment Programme’s funding settlements prior to its announcement.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding Arts Council England provided to the English National Opera in the (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Arts Council England (ACE) provided the English National Opera (ENO) with £12,607,792 of public funding in 2021/22 and 2022/23 through its 2018–22 Investment Programme. Decisions about which organisations to fund in its Investment Programme, and by how much, are taken by Arts Council England alone. As part of its decisions regarding the 2023–26 Investment Programme, Arts Council England has offered the English National Opera £17 million to help it transition from its current model and explore a new future.
I can confirm that all decisions on which organisations to fund through the 2023–26 Investment Programme and their precise allocations have been taken by Arts Council England.
As the Cabinet Minister responsible for arts and culture, the Secretary of State regularly meets Arts Council England, which is an arms-length body of the Department. She met Arts Council England officials to discuss the overall process, outcome and plan for announcement on 2 November. However, the Secretary of State held no meetings with the English National Opera or any other external organisation to discuss this Investment Programme’s funding settlements prior to its announcement.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress he has made on the bilateral negotiations with EU member states that do not offer visa and work permit free touring provisions for UK musicians working in the EU.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
This government recognises the importance of the UK’s creative and cultural industries, not only to the economy and international reputation of the United Kingdom, but also to the wellbeing and enrichment of its people. We want musicians and performers to be able to tour abroad easily.
In order to support this, our focus is now on bilateral engagement with Member States, who are principally responsible for deciding the rules governing what work UK visitors can undertake in the EU. This is why we have spoken to every Member State. From those extensive discussions,19 out of 27 Member States have confirmed that UK musicians and performers do not require visas or work permits for some short term touring. Travellers should always check what requirements they need to fulfil with the EU Member State they are travelling to, and that is why we are working closely with Member States to ensure their guidance is clear and accessible.
We have also developed sector specific ‘landing pages’ for GOV.UK, aimed at the creative sectors, which will allow cultural and creative professionals to easily locate and access guidance that is relevant to them. From these pages, general business traveller summaries can be accessed, which provide enhanced guidance on EU Member State immigration systems for GOV.UK, and include sector-specific rules that feature on Member State websites.
We are now actively engaging with those remaining EU Member States that do not allow visas or work permit free touring, and calling on them to align their arrangements with the UK’s generous rules, which allow creative professionals to tour here easily. Formal approaches have been made, DCMS ministers will be actively involved, and we are working closely with the sector to amplify each other’s lobbying efforts.
We recognise challenges remain around touring, and we are continuing to work closely with the industry. We want to ensure that as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, touring can resume and our world-leading creative and cultural artists can continue to travel widely, learning their craft, growing their audiences and showing the best of British creativity to the world.