Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care's Oral Statement on 6 December 2021 on Covid-19 Update, Official Report, columns 56-58, if sector-specific support will be made available to the travel and tourism sector affected by the introduction of covid-19 travel restrictions.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has put in place a measured and proportionate set of restrictions to continue to support the tourism sector and slow the spread of the new Omicron variant. To support businesses through this next phase, the ‘Working Safely’ guidance will continue to provide advice on sensible precautions employers can take to manage risk and support their staff and customers.
In other tourism sectors, such as hospitality, the guidance says that businesses are exempt from enforcing customers to wear masks and this assessment has been made from a practical point of view as the nature of hospitality visits is to eat and drink.
The Government has continued to provide support to the tourism sector throughout the pandemic. The latest budget announcement included a new temporary business rates relief for over 90% of eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England which will cut at least 50% off their business rates bills during the 2022-23 period which is worth almost £1.7 billion.
The arts and culture sector can still access support from the £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund and Sports Recovery Package, the Film and TV Production Restart Scheme in place until 30 April 2022. While the £800m Live Events Reinsurance Scheme is giving events across the country the confidence needed for organisers to plan for the future.
The Health Secretary was clear these new COVID-19 measures are temporary, the government will keep these measures under review and set out detail shortly.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to tackle racism in sport (a) in the UK and (b) abroad.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Racism has no place in sport, or in wider society. I am committed to ensuring sport does all it can to tackle racism and all forms of discrimination both domestically and internationally.
In June 2021 Sport England, UK Sport and the other home nations’ sports councils published the results of a detailed, independent review into tackling racism and racial inequality in sport.
The findings make clear that racism and racial inequalities still exist within sport in the UK and that there are long standing issues, which have resulted in ethnically diverse communities being consistently disadvantaged.
Each council is now working at pace to develop their own specific action plans to further deliver on these commitments and address the recommendations from the review.
In addition, the forthcoming update of UK Sport and Sport England’s Code for Sports Governance will place an increased focus on diversity in decision making and ensuring that sports organisations reflect the community they serve. Sports receiving the most funding will be required to agree a diversity and inclusion action plan with Sport England and UK Sport, which will be published and updated annually.
The Prime Minister has also set out action to tackle online racist abuse in football following the abhorrent social media attacks on black England players after the Euro 2020 final. For the first time, the government will amend legislation to extend the use of Football Banning Orders so online abusers can be banned from stadiums for up to 10 years, in the same way violent thugs are barred from grounds. The Government, Premier League and football authorities will also work together to help tackle all aspects of online abuse footballers are experiencing, ahead of the Online Safety Bill coming into force. We also welcomed the Premier League’s “No Room for Racism” Action plan, and the announcement of new enhanced anti-discrimination measures such as league-wide bans for offenders.
There is still more to do though, and we will continue to work with sports to combat racism both in person and online.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help charities to recover from the effects of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Charities play a vital role in supporting people and communities in need, and have been central in the response to the pandemic. This is why the government made available a £750 million dedicated funding package to help charities adapt and maintain essential services. This package was in addition to cross-economy measures, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
The impact of COVID-19 on charities has varied greatly, depending on delivery models and income streams. However - with the government support - overall the charity sector has shown significant resilience over the last two years.
My department is actively working with partners in the sector to shape a forward-looking agenda to enable charities to thrive in the future. Further details will be made available in due course.