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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to allow circuses to reopen as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

We are committed to getting the performing arts sector fully back up and running as soon as it is safe to do so. It is a priority of my department to work with the arts and cultural sectors to address the challenges of reopening.

The Secretary of State recently revealed a five stage roadmap that the government will work through to get the performing arts sectors back up and running as soon as possible:

• Stage One - Rehearsal and training (no audiences)

• Stage Two - Performances for broadcast and recording purposes

• Stage Three - Performances outdoors with an audience and pilots for indoor performances with a limited socially-distanced audience

• Stage Four - Performances allowed indoors and outdoors (but with a limited socially-distanced audience indoors)

• Stage Five - Performances allowed indoors / outdoors (with a fuller audience indoors)

On the 11th July, we moved to Stage Three. This means that performances outdoors can take place in line with this guidance. This includes marquees or tented structures where performance occurs in front of a live audience, such as tented circus events. DCMS will work with sector representative bodies to select a number of pilots for indoor performances with a socially distanced audience, as we look to move into Stage Four.