Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the EU about an exemption from cabotage rules for UK-based performing arts organisations touring in the EU; and whether the Secretary of State for Transport and the Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (1) have met, or (2) will meet, to facilitate such an exemption.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
During negotiations on the Trade and Co-operation Agreement, the UK requested special arrangements for the specialist events haulier sector, which includes UK-based performing arts organisations touring in the EU, but the EU did not agree to this.
The Secretary of State for Transport and the Director General of the European Commission have not met, and there is no future engagement planned between them. We are however gathering the views from the public and affected parts of the industry on a proposal to support specialist hauliers by introducing a dual registration measure.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the revised Highway Code will be available in high street outlets; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The new edition of The Highway Code will be available in print from all the usual outlets, for example bookshops, in April 2022.
In the meantime, the updated Highway Code is available in full on the Government website.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 18 January (HL Deb, col 1553) that "issues around friction-free visa travel within the European Union and changes to border requirements are high on the agenda", whether this will include discussion of a visa-waiver agreement for the performing arts between the UK and the EU at the next meeting of the EU–UK Partnership Council.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We raised the issue of touring artists at the first Partnership Council meeting on 9 June and at the Specialised Committee on Services, Investment and Digital Trade on 11 October. The agenda for the next meeting of the Partnership Council will be agreed with our EU counterparts in due course. We will ensure that priority issues for the UK are discussed at the meeting and our interests protected.
21 out of 27 EU Member States, including France, Spain, Germany and Italy, have confirmed that UK musicians and performers do not need visas or work permits for some short-term touring. It is important that we recognise that these routes do exist, to ensure our creative professionals are not discouraged and can resume touring with confidence.
We are continuing to work with the remaining 6 Member States that do not allow any visa or permit free touring to encourage them to adopt a more flexible approach. We do enable visa-free visits from EU citizens, but we wish to retain control of how we apply the policy.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to engage directly with creative freelancers in a similar manner to their engagement with creative industries through regular meetings with the Creative Industries Council.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is well aware of the great contribution freelancers make to the creative industries, and to our society and economy more widely. We are reviewing the scope of the Creative Industries Council to ensure it has appropriate representation, and so that it can be a voice for the full range of people working in the creative industries. We will be gathering views from a wide range of relevant parties to inform this work, including creative freelancers. In addition, we are consulting freelancers on the challenges they face through the Independent Review on Job Quality in the Creative Industries.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have measured the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on (1) creative freelancers, and (2) other creative workers; and if so, by what means.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We recognise the significant challenge the pandemic poses to our arts and creative sectors and to the many individuals and freelancers working across these industries.
DCMS officials have been engaging with HMRC, the Creative Industries Federation (CIF), Arts Council England, and leading organisations such as ‘What’s Next’ and individual freelancers within the sector to better understand the level of impact the pandemic has had on the sector and those working in it.
We have supported freelancers through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) which was extended at Budget to September 2021. Freelancers are also supported through the unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund support package, which has helped ensure the venues and organisations which support them have survived the pandemic. We were also pleased to announce Government funding via Arts Council England last December of an immediate £1.5 million emergency support for freelancers affected by the pandemic, alongside a further £1.35 million contribution from the theatre sector.
We will continue to work closely with freelancers and organisations across the sectors to see how we can best provide support to those affected.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential to support authors by increasing the Public Lending Right Fund.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
There has been no assessment of an increase of the Public Lending Right (PLR) central fund. The PLR central fund is part of the overall funding for the British Library, which is set for each Spending Review period.
The PLR Scheme is a valued right for authors and other contributors to receive payment when their books are borrowed from public libraries. My department conducts an assessment of the rate per loan annually following a recommendation by the British Library. The PLR rate per loan calculation is based on the annual number of ‘notional loans’ of books from public libraries in the UK.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have considered the introduction of an online sales tax for the purpose of levelling the playing field between high street and online retailers, with particular regard to the sale of books.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
At Autumn Budget 2021, the Government announced that it will continue to explore the arguments for and against an Online Sales Tax (OST), the revenue from which would be used to provide business rates relief for in-store retail. The consultation will launch shortly.
No decisions on whether to proceed with an OST have yet been made. It is the Government’s intention to use the forthcoming consultation to consider in detail the issues surrounding proposals for an OST. This will include exploring the range of products, both physical and digital, which are sold online, including books.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will use the Cultural Recovery Fund to support businesses implementing COVID-19 certification.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government’s unprecedented £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund has now given out £1.5 billion of support to around 5,000 organisations and venues in grants and loans, ensuring the survival of organisations facing financial challenges. The Culture Recovery Fund has supported successful applicants with costs associated with operating in a manner compliant with Covid regulations.
The £300 million third round of the Fund is still open for applications, providing vital ongoing support for the cultural, heritage, and creative sectors. We will keep the delivery of the programme under active review and consider how best to adapt it in line with the needs of the sector.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide 100 per cent business rate relief to the end of 2022/23 for all music venues, given the COVID-19 Plan B restrictions.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Our support for the music industry through the £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund throughout the pandemic has been unwavering.
The Government has provided unprecedented business rates support, worth £16 billion, for the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors since the start of the pandemic. Eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure properties paid no business rates for 15 months from 1 April 2020, and thanks to the current 66 per cent capped relief which took effect on 1 July 2021, over 90 per cent of eligible businesses will see a 75 per cent reduction in their business rates bill across this entire financial year to April 2022.
In recognition of longer-term challenges facing the high street, eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses will receive a new temporary relief worth almost £1.7 billion in the year 2022-23.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will (1) cancel, or (2) delay, the planned VAT rise on culture tickets, given the COVID-19 Plan B restrictions.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July 2020 to support the cash flow and viability of around 150,000 businesses and protect over 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors. As announced at Spring Budget 2021, the Government extended the 5 per cent temporary reduced rate of VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors until the end of September. On 1 October 2021, a new reduced rate of 12.5 per cent was introduced for these goods and services to help ease affected businesses back to the standard rate. This new rate will end on 31 March 2022.
All taxes are kept under review, but there are no plans to extend the 12.5 per cent reduced rate of VAT. This relief has cost over £8 billion. Applying a reduced rate of VAT for a longer period would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution.