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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the proposals made by the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatres in their open letter to the Prime Minister, dated 17 June 2020.

To support the sustainability of the arts sector, including theatres, DCMS has worked closely with Arts Council England (ACE) to provide a tailored package of financial support. In March, ACE announced a £160m emergency response package to complement the financial measures already announced by the Government and to ensure immediate resilience of this vital sector.

This includes £20 million of financial support for individuals, including self-employed theatre practitioners, and £140 million of support for organisations, including theatres, so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. To date over 9000 individuals and organisations have been successful in applying for this support.

DCMS has also established the Cultural Renewal Taskforce and the Entertainment and Events working group to ensure appropriate supporting guidance is given to the cultural sector. Theatres and stage-based entertainment organisations are represented on these groups, including via membership of UK Theatre/Society of London Theatre, which is on the Entertainment and Events working group.

Sector-specific expert input into the groups’ work, alongside DCMS’s wider extensive consultation with the Arts sector, is helping to ensure we fully understand the impacts of Covid-19 and remain well placed to respond as it develops.