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 (a) new draft HMRC tax guidance for actors and other performers, (b) legal cases HMRC is considering under IR35 in the entertainment industry and (c) extending IR35 off-payroll rules to the private sector from April 2020 on the (i) sustainability of the entertainment sector in the event that that sector has to operate Class 1 employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and pay employer NICs on multiple and short-term engagements and (ii) self-employed status of performers and other creative workers in that sector.

DCMS has made no assessment as these are matters for HMRC.

HMRC has not changed its approach to actors and other performers but has been working with industry to add some practical examples to the Employment Status Manual. Employment Status is not a choice but depends on the facts of the engagement. Given that most actors and performers are self-employed and unaffected by off-payroll rules (often known as IR35), they will not be affected by off-payroll reform in 2020 and do not pay Class 1 National Insurance. There are no plans to change this.