Live Music Industry: Support

Lord Watts Excerpts
Monday 23rd June 2025

(2 days, 8 hours ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Twycross Portrait Baroness Twycross (Lab)
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On the business rates question, I will throw back to the noble Lord this Government’s fiscal inheritance. We recognise that grass-roots venues have faced a challenging set of circumstances in recent years, and that is why we are committed to working with industry to maximise the uptake and impact of the voluntary ticket levy.

Lord Vaizey of Didcot Portrait Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Con)
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My Lords, I declare my interest as a governor of an independent school—and give way to the noble Lord.

Lord Watts Portrait Lord Watts (Lab)
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I am grateful to the noble Lord. Can the Minister hear the noise from today’s discussion, in which Members are raising all sorts of problems that the cultural industries face? Do we not need a complete strategy that deals with all these issues, and do we not need to be clear about how we are going to support the arts and culture in the UK?