Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Minister for Digital and Culture's response to the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet's Oral Question of 10 December 2020, Official Report, Column 975, what the scope is of the evidence base required by his Department from the festival and events sector to prove that Government support for a covid-19 insurance scheme is needed.
We are aware of the concerns which have been raised about the potential challenge of securing insurance for live events including festivals.
Understandably, the bar for considering Government intervention is set extremely high, especially in light of other support available including the considerable extension to the furlough. Officials have been working closely with the affected sectors over the last few months to understand the challenges and to keep the situation under review.
Evidence of market failure specific to DCMS sectors must be clearly demonstrated and robust for us to explore whether this is the right vehicle for support at this time.