Arts, Culture and Heritage: Support Package

Hannah Bardell Excerpts
Tuesday 7th July 2020

(3 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Caroline Dinenage Portrait Caroline Dinenage
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My right hon. Friend is one of our Equity card-carrying Members of Parliament, so I always listen carefully when he talks about this issue. There are a number of ways we can help. First, getting everything back up to speed will of course support our freelancers and the workforce up and down the sector. Arts Council England has reinstated the fund that people can bid into for projects, so a number of other schemes—worth £59 million—are available to offer support.

Hannah Bardell Portrait Hannah Bardell (Livingston) (SNP) [V]
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Last week the live music industry hosted a webinar with musician and artist Beverley Knight as part of the “Let the Music Play” campaign. It was clear from her and others that there is deep distress in the live music industry. They talked about the impact on associated jobs that are tied up with the industry but have fallen through the cracks of this Government’s furlough scheme. Can the Minister tell us how those freelance musicians, technicians, producers and associated professionals will get support, as they appear to have been completely forgotten by her Government?

Caroline Dinenage Portrait Caroline Dinenage
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We know that the music industry has been particularly badly hit, which is why it will definitely be one of the industries that will seek to benefit from this £1.5 billion scheme.