Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport regarding the introduction of additional measures to support the cultural and creatives industries since the Government's updates on the spread of the omicron covid-19 variant.

Treasury ministers regularly engage with ministers for the department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), including recently, to hear about the impact of COVID-19 and how the Government can continue to support the cultural and creative industries particularly affected by the Omicron variant.

Following these discussions, a further £30 million from the Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) has been made available for organisations as part of the Chancellor’s £1 billion support package announced on 21 December 2021. DCMS have confirmed that this funding will be used to support organisations at risk across the arts, culture and heritage sectors.

Last year the Chancellor announced an unprecedented intervention in the culture sector, announcing nearly £2 billion for the CRF to help protect jobs and cultural organisations across the country. So far more than £1.5 billion has been allocated to around 5,000 individual organisations and sites.

The Government’s £400 billion in COVID-19 support over the pandemic will continue to help businesses into spring of this year and we will continue to respond proportionately to the changing path of the virus, as we have done since the start of the pandemic.