Theatre: Coronavirus

(asked on 22nd June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the extension of covid-19 restrictions beyond 21 June 2021 on the theatre industry.


Answered by
Caroline Dinenage Portrait
Caroline Dinenage
This question was answered on 29th June 2021

The Prime Minister has always said that we would be led by data, not dates. The government has looked at the data very closely and assessed it against the four tests set out in the Roadmap. It is on the basis of worsening data that the decision has been taken that Step 4 will take place no earlier than 19 July.

We recognise the challenging times facing these sectors and are committed to supporting our world-leading cultural and creative industries. The Department has been working closely with stakeholders across the theatre and live events industry throughout the pandemic to monitor the impact of Covid-19 and delays to Step 4 of the Roadmap and will continue to do so.

Many of these organisations continue to benefit from the significant cross-economy package of support that has been made available throughout this pandemic, including the generous employment schemes, grants, loans, a reduction in VAT to 5%, business rates relief, and the extension of the moratorium on commercial evictions for business tenants until March 2022. In addition, businesses across these sectors may be eligible for further support through the third round of the unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund - details of which were announced on 25 June. This third and final round of funding will provide support to new organisations and existing recipients, as the cultural, heritage and creative sectors move towards reopening at full capacity, underlining the government’s commitment to help them build back better as life returns to normal.

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