Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing theatres to open in socially distanced conditions in tier 3 areas.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government fully recognises the disruptive impact that Coronavirus and restrictions has on the performing arts and particularly for theatres which have had to close to public performance. The Government continues to work with all its sectors to assess the impact of the tiers and to develop proposals for how venues can reopen when it is safe to do so.
We recognise the impact that closures across the country will have on our vital cultural sector and remain committed to supporting it as it suffers the impact of this virus. The remaining £400m of Culture Recovery Fund grants and loans announced on Friday 11th December will support significant cultural organisations who now face financial distress as a result of closure, as well as helping them transition back to fuller opening in the spring.
More than 440 theatres across the country have received more than £183 million from the Culture Recovery Fund, which is nearly 30% of the funding awarded by Arts Council England so far.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2020 to Question 120773 on Ice Skating: Coronavirus, what sports he classifies as having elite athletes.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Elite and professional athletes may continue to use facilities to train and to compete. It is set out in regulation and in guidance that an ‘elite athlete’ is defined as a person who is:
an individual who derives a living from competing in a sport
a senior representative nominated by a relevant sporting body
a member of the senior training squad for a relevant sporting body
on an elite development pathway.
It is for the relevant governing body to set their own guidance and define the threshold at which these criteria are met in their sport.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what additional steps his Department is taking to support operators of bowling centres during their extended period of closure due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
My Department is taking a number of steps to support bowling centres impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. Bowling centre operators can access the Government’s comprehensive support package - including the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes, new grant schemes, as well as various government-backed loans. We have also provided business rates relief and grants for many in the retail, leisure and hospitality sector.
We are listening to stakeholders’ concerns, and will continue to closely monitor the ongoing impact of Government restrictions on bowling alleys.
Since 2 December, as set out in the COVID Winter Plan, we have returned to a tiered approach to COVID-19 restrictions in England. Relevant venues in the entertainment, leisure and tourism sectors - including bowling alleys - will be permitted to reopen in tiers 1 and 2, subject to curfew restrictions and in line with COVID-19 Secure guidance. In tier 3 areas, indoor venues and attractions - including bowling alleys - must close.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the English Ice Hockey Association and British Ice Skating’s joint campaign to reopen ice rinks in tier 3 covid-19 local alert level areas for (a) elite sport, (b) under-18 sport, (c) disability sport, (d) educational programmes and (e) organised sport.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus. That’s why we made sure that people could exercise at least once a day even during the height of the first period of enhanced national restrictions and why we opened up grassroots sport and leisure facilities as soon as it was safe to do so.
Under Tier 3, Ice Rinks are able to open for disability sport, sports as part of the curriculum in education and supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s (including those who were under 18 on 31 August 2020). Elite and professional athletes may continue to use facilities including ice rinks to train and to compete Behind Closed Doors.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons indoor skating rinks, including those used for Olympic training, will be required to close under tier 3 covid-19 restrictions while other indoor sports facilities can stay open.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus. That’s why we made sure that people could exercise at least once a day even during the height of the first period of enhanced national restrictions and why we opened up grassroots sport and leisure facilities as soon as it was safe to do so.
As the Prime Minister said on 23 November national restrictions will end on Wednesday 2 December, and gyms and sport facilities will reopen across all tiers. Outdoor skating rinks can stay open across all tiers and indoor skating rinks can open in Tiers 1 and 2. Unfortunately in Tier 3 areas indoor skating rinks will remain closed, because these areas have a very high or rapidly rising level of infections, so tighter restrictions will be in place. However, elite athletes will still be able to access relevant facilities.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with HMRC on providing guidance to professional football clubs on the effect that reduced revenues will have on the taxation requirements for those clubs.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses throughout this period, including a comprehensive and sizable package of direct fiscal support for business such as the business rates relief. Many football clubs have benefited from these measures.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport continues to work closely with other Government Departments as part of our coordinated response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Guidance on tax requirements can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when ten-pin bowling alleys will be allowed to reopen as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Bowling alleys will be able to reopen from 1 August provided they have written a Covid-19 risk assessment.
We have worked closely with stakeholders to develop further Covid-19 Secure reopening guidance for venues such as bowling alleys. Specific guidance on bowling alleys has been published within UKHospitality’s ‘Covid-19 Secure Guidelines for Hospitality Businesses’. We continue to meet regularly with the wider sector through the Cultural Renewal Taskforce’s Sport and Visitor Economy working groups.
As with all aspects of the Government’s response to Covid-19, our decisions have been and will continue to be based on scientific evidence and public health assessments.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the Government plans to allow (a) mobile caravan sites to reopen and (b) allow users of mobile caravans to stay in them overnight.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Forms of holiday accommodation such as caravan parks will be allowed to reopen for overnight stays in Phase 3 of the government’s recovery strategy on 4 July.
My Department has been working closely with the sector, including the British Holiday & Home Parks Association (BH&HPA), through the Visitor Economy Working Group to produce guidance on the reopening of the tourism sector. This will include guidance on reopening hotels, caravans and other guest accommodation. The guidance will be published shortly.
VisitEngland are working on a common industry standard quality mark. While work is ongoing, it will be designed to complement COVID-19 Secure Guidelines produced by the Government.