Post Brexit: Small Service Businesses

Lord Stevenson of Balmacara Excerpts

Monday 24th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

As the noble Lord is aware, having raised this a number of times, we are working closely with the music industry to help musicians adjust to the new trading relationship. Bilateral conversations have established that some touring activities are possible and, under certain conditions, without visas or work permits being required. We have created landing pages on GOV.UK to provide guidance to musicians on these areas.

[Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Lab) [V]]

Further to the question from the noble Lord, the TCA contains no overarching agreement with the EU on short-term work relating to our creative industries and, despite what the Minister says, no bilateral or reciprocal agreements are being signed at the moment. What assessment have the Government made of the impact that this will have on our services trade, which in 2019 was worth over £534 billion?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

As I said, we are working closely with the sector and across government to consider how we can help resolve these issues. I understand the noble Lord’s point. This has been very damaging to the creative industries. It is hard to quantify the impact at the moment. Given the pandemic, not many people are travelling anywhere, but we will monitor the situation closely.