Musicians: Travel

(asked on 6th July 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 plans the Government has to introduce transition funding to support touring musicians.


Answered by
Caroline Dinenage Portrait
Caroline Dinenage
This question was answered on 12th July 2021

The UK’s creative industries are the finest in the world and this government is determined to support them.

UK performers and artists are of course still able to tour and perform in the EU, and vice versa. However, we understand the concerns about the new arrangements and we are working with the creative and cultural sectors to help them get to grips with the changes to systems and processes.

As the Secretary of State has said, we have moved at pace and with urgency, and have provided much greater clarity about the current position, including through the DCMS-led working group. The group has discussed the issues faced by the sector, has worked to provide clarity regarding the practical steps that need to be taken by touring professionals when touring the EU, and has explored further steps as to how these sectors can be supported to work and tour in the EU with confidence. This includes looking closely at proposals for an Export Office that could provide further practical help.

Through bilateral engagement with EU Member States, we have established that at least 17 out of 27 Member States, including France and Germany, allow some visa and permit free touring. We are now engaging with those Member States that do not have any visa or permit free touring to encourage them to adopt a more flexible approach in line with the UK’s own rules, which allow creative professionals to tour easily here.

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