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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a temporary modification to the Theatre Production Tax Relief to ease the tax burden on theatres.

The Secretary of State, Ministers and officials continue to consult the creative and cultural sectors extensively to ensure they fully understand the potential impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak on the sector. DCMS is regularly engaging with HMT to establish the impact Covid-19 has had on the cultural sector and to ensure the needs of the cultural sector are factored into the developing economic response. DCMS is committed to ensuring that its unique and world class sectors are supported throughout this time and is exploring all potential options to facilitate this.

Theatres across the country have benefited through the unprecedented financial support announced by the government, including the job retention scheme, a years' business rates holiday and the various loan schemes available. DCMS has been working closely with Arts Council England (ACE) to monitor and respond to the challenges being faced by the arts and cultural sectors. On 24 March, Arts Council England announced a £160m emergency response package, made possible by Government funding, to ensure the immediate resilience of this vital sector, and to ensure that, where possible, it can respond creatively to the needs of communities at this extremely challenging time.