Arts

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Thursday 1st February 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cashman (Lab)]

My Lords, we get to the point in the debate where we defy the rules of “Just a Minute” and have hesitation and repetition. However, I make no excuses for congratulating my noble friend and national treasure Lord Bragg on his lifelong commitment to the arts and on ensuring this debate. I refer to my register of interests. I spent 40 years as an actor before entering the theatre of politics, and I know full well what my noble friends Lord Bassam and Lord Rooker said about seaside and rural theatres. Indeed, I have performed the length and breadth of the country, sometimes in theatres that wished I had not.

On a serious point, I believe that our lack of a comprehensive arts policy will fail a generation in this country. Therefore, my focus will be on access to the arts and the creative industries in all their aspects through education at primary, secondary and tertiary level and on physical access to experience the arts in all their interconnected forms. I am indebted to the Lords Library, in particular to Nicola Newson, for the detailed research I requested and to the briefings I received from Equity.

My premise is that we have no effective joined-up, cross-departmental approach to one of our most successful industries. I would go so far as to revisit the concept of DCMS and instead make a case for education, arts, science and innovation. I believe that without cross-departmental strategies, young people, especially from working class and ethnic minority backgrounds and people with disabilities, will be denied crucial, life-changing opportunities without regular access to the arts, arts education and the careers therein.

It is not only young people who benefit; it is cross-generational. I have witnessed at first hand the impact of drama and art within the prison system in opening up minds and helping people to face the challenge of reading and writing and expressing oneself and the deep and often damaging frustration that comes when people are unable to express themselves. The arts have the power to bring imagination to life and allow and encourage individuals to explore new, unimagined opportunities. The arts are all interconnected. Television soap opera, music, television drama and theatre open audiences to the world around them and challenge misconception and misinformation while all the time being engaging and entertaining and in fact, as mentioned by my noble friend Lady McIntosh, bringing about a monumental change for justice, as we witnessed with “Mr Bates vs the Post Office” and, for those of us old enough to remember, the social justice that followed “Cathy Come Home”.

However, we are failing young people, as witnessed by the findings of a report by A New Direction, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes creative opportunities for children and young people. Its report The Arts in Schools: Foundations for the Future was published in March 2023, and it still needs to be fully addressed by the Government. We must ensure that there is greater time to study and explore music, drama, design, dance, video games, films and audio within our schools and in hubs outside, especially for those who might not otherwise be able to afford it. We must keep our theatres, music venues and libraries open. They are not luxuries; they make economic sense, and they speak of the kind of civilised, open country that we are or could become.

Arts and Creative Industries: Freelancers and Self-employed Workers

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Thursday 15th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cashman (Lab)]

My Lords, we are indebted to the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, for securing this extremely important and timely debate. I declare my interests as set out in the register, particularly as an author and a rights holder.

I want to focus on two elements: remuneration and benefits. Recent research has shown a worrying drop of 60% in real-term income from writing over the past 15 years for writers and 85% of actors earn under £10,000 per annum, with 72% taking on second jobs outside entertainment to support themselves. Visual artists, shockingly, report earning an average of £2.60 an hour when they deliver work or projects for public institutions. This is unsustainable and it is reflected across the industry. The lack of secure income is the most common reason for one-third of the workforce considering leaving the sector.

Yet, in 45 other countries creative workers are better supported by receiving payments to compensate them when their work is downloaded or stored for free through schemes called private copy levies. I am reliably informed that an amendment redressing this will be brought forward to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, and I hope that the Minister will respond positively to this proposal.

This brings me to my second element, and I will wrap up quickly. Significant reduction in support for the arts from local and central government over the last 13 years has reduced opportunities among freelancers and the self-employed within the industries. These cuts are causing undue losses of secure jobs at long-established institutions such as the Oldham Coliseum, which has closed, and the English National Opera, which is moving from its London base.

I could say much more, but I conclude with this: these issues need a comprehensive approach across government departments so that we remain world-leading. But this must not be at the expense of remuneration or a decent standard of living for those working in the creative industries. The working models are there; I hope the Government have the common sense to adopt them.

Online Sexual Harassment of Children

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Monday 24th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I read the very disturbing report in the Sunday Times to which the noble Lord referred. That is why the online safety Bill takes the approach of not being specific on certain technologies and making sure that our legislation can be future-proofed so that, as the internet continues to develop and new technologies are invented, the legislative protections for users keep pace with that. The metaverse, to which he referred, is a key example.

[Lord Cashman (Lab)]

My Lords, I reinforce the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Bull, that inclusive relationship and sex education early in schools is vital. Does the Minister therefore agree that such relationship education empowers children as to which are the most appropriate and inappropriate relationships that can be developed online?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

Yes, I would agree; I think the Children’s Commissioner’s guidance is very beneficial for teachers, as well as for parents, grandparents and guardians. As I say, we keep the curriculum under regular review, so we can make sure that new threats to children are being covered in it and so that conversations can be had in an age-appropriate way.

Freedom of Speech

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Friday 10th December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cashman (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, as a member of a minority, I am particularly pleased to follow the noble Lord, Lord Kirkham. This is an extremely important debate that strikes at the very heart of the kind of country and society we are. I will introduce my personal point of view.

Recently in your Lordships’ House, we discussed freedom of speech and expression during Questions. I was particularly struck by something the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, mentioned, which was a reflection in relation to Salem. He was, of course, referring to the witch trials of Salem. As someone who is trans inclusive and has continually defended the rights of trans people to become themselves, defending trans men, trans teenagers and trans women in particular, I too have felt that it is like Salem. I will not regale your Lordships with some of the unpleasant accusations levelled against me because I have dared to defend and support trans people and their right to be themselves—their right to be treated equally. But I have noticed that the attacks on those of us who support trans equality have been particularly nasty. Organisations and institutions that defend trans equality have equally been targeted and attacked.

Individuals who voice pro-trans views in the public sphere are frequently attacked by those who wish to silence them. On social media every day, people who advance reasonable views in support of trans people are often harassed in the most vicious ways. Organisations that support trans people and their families and others that support wider equality, including trans inclusion—organisations such as the Girl Guides; Mind, the mental health charity; and the National Trust—are all attacked and piled on to because they support LGBT+ equality.

So yes, I agree that it feels like Salem. I want all sides and those in the middle to be recognised as suffering for what we believe, but it should not have to be like this. Just because I have an opinion does not make me right and it does not make me wrong. I have an opinion on this issue based in principle and in law, and in the defence and promotion of equality.

The absence of trans voices from this debate has not helped matters, but can one honestly wonder why trans people have hesitated before engaging? The defamation, stigmatisation and misrepresentation of trans people—trans women in particular—and the depiction of them as a threat are deeply toxic and place them in dangerous territory. Fears about trans people have been whipped up, often without a shred of evidence, in your Lordships’ House and the other place, and by a biased and partisan media eager to grab controversy. This helps no one—certainly not the vulnerable, nor those in fear of what they are told might happen to them. This misrepresentation diminishes every single one of us.

We are not helped when the media and members of the Government indulge in and stoke up so-called culture wars. None of us is helped by this, because what I do know is that when the rights of one minority are diminished it is not long before the rights of other minorities are attacked and diminished. The history of the 1930s so painfully reminds us that we must speak out. We must have the courage to stand in the shoes of the others.

That includes standing in the shoes of those who feel that they are threatened. So I stand in the shoes of that trans woman and I imagine what it must be like to be her—to face the misrepresentation, defamation and dehumanisation reported in the media, regurgitated in bars and whispered on the streets as she walks along them. I wonder what it must be like to live with that kind of hatred daily. I stand in her shoes and I know that I would not want it to happen to me, and if I would not want it to happen to me, how dare I allow it to happen to others? Therefore I will not be silent, which would be easy in such a heated and whipped-up moral panic, and I will not acquiesce. I want my voice and the voices of others to be respectfully heard.

Of course we must take note of the contemporary challenges to freedom of speech but, importantly, we must also recognise our own individual responsibility in recognising and exercising the right to freedom of speech in ways that promote the freedom for us all to live our lives without fear. Freedom of expression is without question the lifeblood of a democratic society and, because of this, the right to freedom of expression, as our own human rights law recognises, comes with duties and responsibilities.

This means that we should never use freedom of expression to extinguish the freedoms of others, especially those so often unseen, misrepresented and shamefully unheard. The Constitutional Court of South Africa recently reminded us that speech is powerful:

“it has the ability to build, promote and nurture, but it can also denigrate, humiliate and destroy.”

That court eloquently reminded us that hate speech is

“the antithesis of the values envisaged by the right to free speech—whereas the latter advances democracy, hate speech is destructive of democracy.”

For this reason, I am very pleased that this week the Law Commission made recommendations to strengthen the protection of trans people from the hatred that they are too exposed to. I end by reiterating that we all have a responsibility to exercise our cherished right to freedom of expression in ways that promote and do not diminish equality. Equality threatens no one. The rights of one reinforce the other.

Racism in Cricket

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Wednesday 10th November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I do not entirely agree with my noble friend. He is right to point to the need for evidence. That is why we are very keen to see the full report and are glad that it has been provided to the Select Committee in another place. However, this case, sadly, has been going on for a number of years. It has not been dealt with with the speed and thoroughness it ought to have been, and we are glad that that finally is happening.

[Lord Cashman (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Verma, is absolutely right that racism goes much wider than sport. I am afraid I disagree with the noble Lord; we must call it out wherever we see it, because through silence we acquiesce and we condone. Therefore, will the Minister work with other government departments to ensure that there is a coherent approach, not only to the forms of racism we see day in and day out, but to the other forms of discrimination that debase the very society in which we live?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

Yes, absolutely. I am mindful of the Question yesterday on inclusion in sport. That is at the centre of the Government’s strategy Sporting Future. It is critical when confronting the disease of racism that all of us speak out and call it out. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, which is why we want to see the report in full so that everybody can play their part in tackling this.

Sport: Transgender Inclusion

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Tuesday 9th November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

The guidance looks into the question of testosterone suppression, and many people working or competing in sport do not consider that that has created fairness or safety in their individual sports. The evidence is clear that there are retained advantages in strength, stamina and physique for the average transgender women, with or without testosterone suppression; that has not proved the silver bullet that many hoped it would be. That is why the sports councils are encouraging governing bodies to consider alternative approaches for their sport. In some cases that will be universal participation and in others it will not, but it is right that they do that on a case-by-case basis.

[Lord Cashman (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I do not refer to the debate around this question but I am deeply concerned about the public debate around trans issues and trans women in particular, and the continuous depiction of them as a threat. Therefore, does the Minister agree that whenever we raise issues with regard to any minority, we should be specific and evidence-based and should never knowingly or unwittingly fuel prejudice, hatred or misrepresentation, especially against minorities such as trans women, who daily face dangerous defamation and misrepresentation?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I strongly agree with the noble Lord and I am pleased to say that the sports councils’ work has followed that approach. The intention of their guidance is to encourage sports to think in innovative ways to ensure that nobody is left out. I am mindful that these exchanges will be followed by many people affected on a personal level, so I want everyone to hear very clearly that we want everybody to have every opportunity to enjoy, compete in and excel in sport.

Creative Sector

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Thursday 4th November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cashman (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, it is always a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath, and I congratulate him on his contribution. I also congratulate my friend, the noble Baroness, Lady Featherstone, on the laser-like brilliance of her opening statement, and I welcome and congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Foster, on his maiden speech. I look forward to many more.

[A noble Lord]

Spencer.

[Lord Cashman (Non-Afl)]

Spencer. I am corrected from a sedentary position. My error was unforgivable; I restate that I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Spencer, on his excellent maiden speech.

I remind the House of my interests as a set out in the register, particularly as a member of Equity. I am in receipt of royalties from programmes and I am a published author with Bloomsbury. I am grateful for the many briefings I have received from the Society of London Theatre, UK Theatre, Equity and many others, including the renowned and prolific commercial theatre producer Sonia Friedman.

As the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, said, before the pandemic, the creative sectors were facing difficult issues because of our post-Brexit trade deals and, in particular, the restrictions on the freedom of movement of goods and people. The creative industries import and export talent and product across the EU and further afield, and there are still many issues, now impacted by the pandemic, that need to be resolved. I shall not repeat them as the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, dealt extensively with them.

I welcome wholeheartedly the government measures and any criticism I have is because I expect more and better. Despite the measures that have been introduced, it remains a very mixed picture. While many have received assistance and support, many others were unable to get help and are still struggling or have left their professions. Indeed, some established freelancers were advised that their work was not “vital” and that they should retrain. That attitude is insulting and short- sighted, and potentially drives away practitioners where there is already a drastic skills shortage.

Some theatres and venues across the UK are experiencing returning audiences, but many others are struggling. Across the board, ticket sales are far from guaranteed, with the majority of theatres’ producers having to take a week-by-week approach to their finances, which creates a hugely unsettling economic environment. In such an unsettled economic environment, it follows that there will be long-term employment and artistic consequences that could affect theatres, producers and venues, as well as the skills crossover.

The lack of international tourism and broader public uncertainty about personal safety and returning to life as normal are at the heart of these issues. Therefore, clear government messaging is crucial, in addition to continued targeted economic support to help the creative industries transition out from Covid-19 restrictions.

The Budget and the CSR in October provided much-needed potential financial relief, but it is about take-up and accessibility of funds. For instance, DCMS has awarded just 1.3% of the £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund. One needs to beg the question: why? We must also address other key areas: funding for local authorities to ensure that the arts are part of the regeneration of our towns and cities; and cultural VAT, which should be maintained at 12.5% or the reversion period extended.

The arts premium for secondary schools is vital. I give this urgency because I know it matters. At the age of 11, I initially went to a secondary school and, because of my exposure to theatre, my life was dramatically changed and my life changes enhanced beyond all measure. The benefits to young people are immeasurable, stimulating imaginations and taking them beyond their place of birth or the people to whom they were born and giving them the horizons that beforehand were unimaginable—truly, the power to change lives.

I briefly turn to the doubling of theatre tax relief, which will have an extremely positive impact on the ability to produce and stimulate new productions through the autumn and deeply uncertain winter. However, there are some operational issues with TTR. The interpretation that DCMS has specified is that only shows with activity after 27 October can qualify for the doubled TTR. However, activity on shows of a large scale—indeed, on any large-scale performances—often starts well over a year or two in advance of the first performance. There are solutions to this problem, and I urge the Minister to meet with producers and others.

I have two final points. The reintroduction of the minimum income floor for universal credit will have an extremely negative impact on creative freelancers with variable income. A recent survey by the union Equity found that 50% of respondents were concerned that they could be forced out of the industry as a result. Quite rightly, Equity wants to abolish the minimum income floor and replace it with a meaningful alternative to better support creative freelancers. I urge the Minister to meet with Equity to discuss its proposals.

Finally—and I say this with all due deference and courtesy—the cultural vandalism of privatising Channel 4 will have damaging consequences for its supply chain, resulting in thousands of job losses. It will serve no one, least of all the viewer, nor the principles of broadcasting diversity. The Channel 4 model works. Therefore, I ask the Government to stop meddling, leave Channel 4 alone and abolish such reckless proposals.