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 the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to October 2020 at the 80 per cent level for (a) theatres and (b) other cultural venues with no income from ticket sales.

As confirmed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 29 May, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended until the end of October 2020. The level of Government grant will be slowly tapered from August 2020 to reflect that some people will be returning to work.

DCMS continues to engage with the sector extensively in order to best understand the challenges faced. DCMS is also regularly engaging with other departments, including HMT, to ensure the needs of the cultural sector are factored into the developing economic response.