Covid-19: Museums, Galleries and Historic Buildings Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Lord Truscott
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Covid-19: Museums, Galleries and Historic Buildings
Lord Truscott Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Lord Truscott (Ind Lab)
My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, for securing this debate. Many of our historic buildings are also theatres, and the creative industries contribute £77 billion to our economy, and the contribution of the performing arts is around £5.5 billion. Our theatres are among the best in the world and attract international audiences. However, more than 70% of all venues will run out of money by the end of this year. Her Majesty’s Government need to find alternatives to social distancing to enable our theatres to survive Covid-19. These could include dispersed seating arrangements and the widespread wearing of masks. Will the Minister look urgently at what can be done to support our theatres?