Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Crabb Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Warman]

I would of course be delighted to meet my hon. Friend. I pay tribute to the work that she is doing to champion this vital utility in the 21st century. Some of the geography of Leigh is challenging—a number of properties are a long way from exchanges—but that is no excuse, which is why we are exploring all avenues. I look forward to discussing them with my hon. Friend.

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to help the cultural sector reopen as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

[Cherilyn Mackrory (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to help the cultural sector reopen as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

[The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Oliver Dowden)]

Arts and culture define our nation and form a vital part of the ecosystem that makes us a creative-industry superpower. At a time when the nation is crying out for comfort, they enrich our soul, which is why I was delighted this week to announce an unprecedented £1.57 billion package to help theatres, museums, live music venues and galleries to weather the ongoing storm. I want to see these institutions open their doors as soon as it is safe for them to do so. I am working extensively with the sector on how to achieve this and will be publishing further roadmap timings for further steps imminently.

[Stephen Crabb]

When it comes to live music and festivals, Britain probably leads the way. As the Secretary of State says, that success is built on an incredible ecosystem of British performers, technicians, sound engineers and many other freelancers. Will my right hon. Friend say a bit more about how he intends the major package of funding that he announced on Monday to be used to support this important sector, which has taken a real battering over the past three months?

[Oliver Dowden]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely correct to highlight the value of live music venues. I have engaged extensively with those in the sector, including hosting roundtables with them. I was determined that the package should include support for them, so it will cover areas such as grassroots music venues, concert halls and indoor arenas. We are defining live music venues, basically, as those wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music for the purposes of entertaining an audience.