Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether any bilateral arrangements are in place for UK musicians seeking to tour in Malta.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government is committed to supporting the UK’s creative industries, including musicians, to adapt to new arrangements with the EU.
EU Member States are principally responsible for deciding the rules governing what work UK visitors can undertake in each Member State. We have engaged bilaterally with all EU Member States, and nearly all (24 out of 27) have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for UK performers for short-term touring.
This includes the UK’s biggest touring markets such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Following engagement by the UK Government and the sector, this also includes Spain, which introduced 90-day visa- and work permit- free touring in November 2021; and Greece, which announced a visa and work permit free route for UK creatives in June 2022, currently due to be in place until 31 December 2022. The UK Government is continuing to engage with Greece on extending this arrangement beyond the end of this year, however this is ultimately a decision for the Greek Government to take.
The Government is engaged with the remaining Member States - Cyprus, Malta and Portugal - on allowing creative professionals to tour more easily. However, ultimately it is up to these countries to align their requirements more closely with the UK’s generous rules.
The UK’s domestic rules allow musicians, entertainers and artists (and their technical staff) from EU Member States, to perform in the UK without requiring a visa, and the UK does not have work-permits.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Greek Government to agree bespoke bilateral arrangements for UK musicians seeking to tour in Greece without restrictions.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government is committed to supporting the UK’s creative industries, including musicians, to adapt to new arrangements with the EU.
EU Member States are principally responsible for deciding the rules governing what work UK visitors can undertake in each Member State. We have engaged bilaterally with all EU Member States, and nearly all (24 out of 27) have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for UK performers for short-term touring.
This includes the UK’s biggest touring markets such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Following engagement by the UK Government and the sector, this also includes Spain, which introduced 90-day visa- and work permit- free touring in November 2021; and Greece, which announced a visa and work permit free route for UK creatives in June 2022, currently due to be in place until 31 December 2022. The UK Government is continuing to engage with Greece on extending this arrangement beyond the end of this year, however this is ultimately a decision for the Greek Government to take.
The Government is engaged with the remaining Member States - Cyprus, Malta and Portugal - on allowing creative professionals to tour more easily. However, ultimately it is up to these countries to align their requirements more closely with the UK’s generous rules.
The UK’s domestic rules allow musicians, entertainers and artists (and their technical staff) from EU Member States, to perform in the UK without requiring a visa, and the UK does not have work-permits.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether any bilateral arrangements are in place for UK musicians seeking to tour in Greece.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government is committed to supporting the UK’s creative industries, including musicians, to adapt to new arrangements with the EU.
EU Member States are principally responsible for deciding the rules governing what work UK visitors can undertake in each Member State. We have engaged bilaterally with all EU Member States, and nearly all (24 out of 27) have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for UK performers for short-term touring.
This includes the UK’s biggest touring markets such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Following engagement by the UK Government and the sector, this also includes Spain, which introduced 90-day visa- and work permit- free touring in November 2021; and Greece, which announced a visa and work permit free route for UK creatives in June 2022, currently due to be in place until 31 December 2022. The UK Government is continuing to engage with Greece on extending this arrangement beyond the end of this year, however this is ultimately a decision for the Greek Government to take.
The Government is engaged with the remaining Member States - Cyprus, Malta and Portugal - on allowing creative professionals to tour more easily. However, ultimately it is up to these countries to align their requirements more closely with the UK’s generous rules.
The UK’s domestic rules allow musicians, entertainers and artists (and their technical staff) from EU Member States, to perform in the UK without requiring a visa, and the UK does not have work-permits.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in their work to help UK musicians to tour EU countries after the UK's departure from the EU.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting the UK’s world-class creative industries to adapt to new arrangements following our departure from the European Union.
We have worked extensively with the sector and directly with EU Member States, and have clarified arrangements on the movement of people, goods, and haulage. We have taken steps to support specialist concert hauliers, and have worked across Government and with the sector to develop guidance including ‘landing pages’ on GOV.UK specifically for touring musicians and other professionals from the creative sectors.
Through this work, we have confirmed that:
nearly all EU Member States offer visa- and work-permit-free routes for musicians and creative performers. This includes – following extensive engagement by the Government and the creative sector – Spain and, most recently, Greece, which announced a visa- and work-permit-free route in June 2022;
portable musical instruments, carried or in a vehicle, can be transported cost-free and should not require ATA Carnets; and
small ‘splitter vans’ are not subject to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement limits on ‘haulage for the creative sectors’ and ‘cross trade’. In addition, the Government has introduced dual registration to support specialist hauliers, meaning they can benefit from more generous market access arrangements in Great Britain and the EU.
We continue to work closely with the sector to support musicians and other creative professionals to tour internationally, both in the European Union and more widely.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she last met representatives of the music industry to discuss UK musicians touring in the EU.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting the creative sector to adapt to new arrangements with the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify arrangements, press for specific changes from Member States, and introduce unilateral measures where possible.
Ministers and officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) engage with the music sector regularly through bilateral meetings and visits, discussing a range of issues, including touring.
This engagement includes meetings with industry and relevant departments on specific issues around touring, such as with the Department for Transport on haulage issues or DEFRA on CITES certificates. It also includes the DCMS-led touring group, which met most recently in June 2022, with attendance from the DCMS Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure, officials from across government and devolved authorities, and representatives of the creative and cultural sectors.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the 90/180 day period set out in the Schengen Borders Code for third-country nationals, whether negotiations are ongoing with the EU to help reduce potential barriers faced by artists, creatives and professionals who tour in Europe; and what other steps her Department is taking to assist those people tour in Europe.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting UK creatives to adapt to new arrangements when touring in the EU. The UK took an ambitious approach during negotiations with the EU that would have ensured that touring artists and their support staff did not need work-permits to perform in the EU. The Government deeply regrets that the EU rejected our proposals.
Our focus now is on supporting the sector by providing clarity, working with Member States, and implementing unilateral measures where possible. This includes the introduction of a ‘dual registration’ measure to help specialist hauliers move across the UK and EU.
The vast majority of Member States offer visa and work permit free routes for musicians and creative performers. This includes Spain, which introduced 90-day visa- and work permit- free touring in November 2021, and Greece, which announced a visa and work permit free route for UK creatives in June 2022, both following engagement by the UK Government and the sector.
We are aware that musicians and their support staff are concerned about the 90 in 180 day Schengen limit. Beyond this limit, creatives will be required to obtain the relevant visa or work permit for the relevant Member State, as artists from other third countries are required to do.
As rules and definitions vary across Member States, travellers should check with Member States’ own guidance before they travel. That is why we have worked closely with Member States to ensure their guidance is clear and accessible. As well as this, we have published guidance on GOV.UK, including updated travel advice for travelling to the EU, and individual business traveller summaries for EU Member States and European Economic Area (EEA) countries.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what negotiations are taking place with the governments of (1) France, (2) Belgium and (3) the Netherlands, to designate Eurostar terminals as entry and exit points for items including musical instruments affected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); what progress they have made in any such negotiations; and, in the absence of any agreement, what steps they are taking to broaden and increase the number of ports of entry to the EU that can be used by UK musicians who are required to obtain a carnet to work in the EU.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Any specimen covered by CITES controls must be imported or exported through one of the 36 designated and operational land, sea and air Points of Entry (PoE). The full list is available at GOV.UK and kept under review.
We are working closely with Border Force, industry and our European counterparts to look at the feasibility of designating further PoE to provide additional routes for the movement of CITES items (e.g. musical instruments), including the Eurostar.
Approximately 80 countries around the world (including all EU member states) accept ATA Carnets. ATA Carnets are not a mandatory requirement for anyone temporarily moving goods between the United Kingdom and the EU, including musicians transporting their instruments. They are an optional facilitation that allows goods to be imported temporarily without the normal customs formalities (i.e. customs declarations) and import duty being paid. They allow a single document to be used for multiple countries’ customs controls. The management of EU import and export procedures is the responsibility of the customs authority of the relevant EU member state.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on how many occasions (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have met representatives of the music industry to discuss the ability of musicians to tour in Europe following the UK’s departure from the EU since January 2022.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government is committed to supporting the creative sector to adapt to new arrangements with the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify arrangements, press for specific changes from Member States, and introduce unilateral measures where possible.
Ministers and officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) regularly engage with the music sector, including on the important issue of touring. This engagement includes the DCMS-led touring group, which last met in June 2022, with attendance from the former DCMS Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure, officials from across government and devolved authorities, and representatives of the creative and cultural sectors. I have met with representatives of the music sector to discuss a variety of issues including touring.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will (a) make an assessment of the potential merits of streamlining entry routes into the UK for international artists and their entourages and (b) ensure that immigration guidance for that sector is up-to-date, comprehensive and accessible.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government is committed to supporting the touring sector to adapt to new arrangements with the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify arrangements, press for specific changes from Member States, and introduce unilateral measures where possible.
With regards to the movement of vehicles, the Department for Transport has implemented a Dual Registration measure. This enables specialist event hauliers who have an established haulage base outside Great Britain (GB) and who also maintain a GB haulage base and operate for hire and reward to temporarily transfer their vehicles between their two operator licences. We have also confirmed that ‘splitter vans’ that are carrying both equipment (which is not for sale) and up to 9 people do not fall in the scope of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), and their use is therefore subject to the applicable Member State law.
EU Member States are principally responsible for deciding the rules governing what work UK visitors can undertake. Following the Government’s engagement, almost all EU Member States have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for UK musicians and creative performers. This includes Spain and Greece, who introduced visa and work permit free touring routes in November 2021 and June 2022 respectively, following extensive Government and sectoral engagement.
We are working with Member States to ensure their guidance is clear and accessible. We have published general business traveller summaries on GOV.UK, as well as ‘landing pages’ on GOV.UK for the creative sectors.
The Government supports our world leading creative industries across the UK through a range of export support programmes, including the successful Music Export Growth Scheme and the International Showcase Fund. In addition, UK businesses, including touring professionals, can get answers to practical questions online and by telephone through the Export Support Service.
The UK’s immigration rules for touring creative professionals are comparatively more generous than in many EU Member States. The UK’s domestic rules allow musicians, entertainers and artists (and their technical staff) from non-visa national countries, such as EU Member States and the US, to undertake paid work in the UK through routes which are set out on specific pages for the creative sectors on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps with her counterparts in EU member states to agree non-onerous, zero or low cost work and travel arrangements in Europe for musicians and other industry professionals.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government is committed to supporting the touring sector to adapt to new arrangements with the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify arrangements, press for specific changes from Member States, and introduce unilateral measures where possible.
With regards to the movement of vehicles, the Department for Transport has implemented a Dual Registration measure. This enables specialist event hauliers who have an established haulage base outside Great Britain (GB) and who also maintain a GB haulage base and operate for hire and reward to temporarily transfer their vehicles between their two operator licences. We have also confirmed that ‘splitter vans’ that are carrying both equipment (which is not for sale) and up to 9 people do not fall in the scope of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), and their use is therefore subject to the applicable Member State law.
EU Member States are principally responsible for deciding the rules governing what work UK visitors can undertake. Following the Government’s engagement, almost all EU Member States have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for UK musicians and creative performers. This includes Spain and Greece, who introduced visa and work permit free touring routes in November 2021 and June 2022 respectively, following extensive Government and sectoral engagement.
We are working with Member States to ensure their guidance is clear and accessible. We have published general business traveller summaries on GOV.UK, as well as ‘landing pages’ on GOV.UK for the creative sectors.
The Government supports our world leading creative industries across the UK through a range of export support programmes, including the successful Music Export Growth Scheme and the International Showcase Fund. In addition, UK businesses, including touring professionals, can get answers to practical questions online and by telephone through the Export Support Service.
The UK’s immigration rules for touring creative professionals are comparatively more generous than in many EU Member States. The UK’s domestic rules allow musicians, entertainers and artists (and their technical staff) from non-visa national countries, such as EU Member States and the US, to undertake paid work in the UK through routes which are set out on specific pages for the creative sectors on GOV.UK.