Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - 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 assessment his Department has made of the effect of recent changes to covid-19 restrictions on youth theatres.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
A number of exemptions to the Rule of Six have been published and the exceptions where groups can be larger than 6 people include: registered childcare, education or training supervised activities provided for children, including wraparound care, youth groups and activities, and children’s playgroups
Venues such as theatres, concert halls and other entertainment venues that are already able to host larger numbers, and are Covid secure in line with the relevant guidance, will continue to be able to do so - as long as groups of more than one household are limited to six and do not mix with one another.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish further information on the allocation of the remaining £258 million in funding from the Cultural Renewal Fund.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Culture Recovery Fund will provide targeted support to critical cultural, arts and heritage organisations to help them survive and recover through the coronavirus pandemic. In the first round of funding, £622 million will be distributed, the remaining £258 million has been reserved for funding later in the financial year. The distribution of this £258 million will be dependent on the outcome of the first round of funding so that it can best meet the developing needs of organisations.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on what date he plans to announce the names of organisations receiving support from the Cultural Recovery Fund.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Our priority is to ensure that organisations get the funding they need as swiftly as possible. Our Arms Length Bodies made emergency funding available in the spring and this package builds on that. We expect funding to start flowing to organisations in September with further details to be announced after that.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many workers in the digital, culture, media and sport sectors have been recipients of support from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by John Whittingdale
It is estimated that the number of workers furloughed across DCMS sectors (including tourism) peaked at 1.5 million on 31st May 2020. This represented 37% of the total DCMS workforce. The estimated number of furloughed workers in these sectors has since declined to 812,000, or 20% of the workforce, as of 9th August.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - 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 estimate the Government has made of the number of job losses in digital, culture, media and sport sectors since April 2020.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The latest ONS Business Impacts of Coronavirus Survey data, recorded from 27th July to 9th August, suggests that 1.9% of Accommodation and Food Services Activities workers have been made redundant as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, along with 1.0% of Arts, Entertainment and Recreation workers. Across the UK economy as a whole, the figure stands at 1.1%.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - 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 his Department is taking to monitor the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the number of people employed in the creative industries.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
DCMS conducted a business impact survey earlier this year with results published in June and the next set of results are due later in the Autumn. Since the start of the crisis, the department has engaged extensively with stakeholders across the Creative Industries and we are aware of the difficulties organisations and individuals face.
We appreciate that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to the creative industries which is why the Government announced an unprecedented £1.57 billion support package specifically for the cultural sector to help them through this crisis. This funding will provide targeted support to many organisations in the Creative Industries, to stay open and continue operating. This substantial sector-specific package is in addition to economic wide measures such as the furlough scheme, and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, both of which were designed to protect as many jobs as possible.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - 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 progress has been made under the Creative Industries Sector Deal rights holder and online marketplaces roundtables in achieving their objective of reducing online infringement; whether the Government made an assessment of the potential merits of legislation after a code of practice was not agreed by December 2018; and what the timetable is for the conclusion of those roundtables.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Government has committed to overseeing discussions between rights holders and platforms as part of the online marketplaces roundtables. Progress has been steady with more time requested by all parties for bilateral discussions as each platform operates differently. Consequently, substantive progress has been made with a Memorandum of Understanding currently in draft phase. Throughout these discussions platforms have addressed some of the concerns raised by rights holders and the expectation is for a signed MoU this Autumn.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the Competition and Markets Authority plans to report on the findings of the digital markets taskforce; and what plans he has to ensure the equity of markets online for creators and consumers.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government is committed to ensuring that it takes an effective, pro-innovation approach to governing digital technologies.
That is why we established the Digital Markets Taskforce to advise on the potential design and implementation of pro-competitive measures in digital platform markets. The Taskforce will support the Government’s objective to ensure that digital markets work for all: to enable disruptors to challenge incumbents, to empower consumers through choice and control, to support quality services and content online, and to provide industry, especially SMEs, with fair access to digital markets to be able to grow their businesses. It will deliver its advice by the end of the year.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - 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 Answer of 14 July 2020 to Question 71842 on Culture: Coronavirus, if he will publish the further detailed guidance before the summer parliamentary recess.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Further guidance on applications to the £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations will be published by our partner organisations - Arts Council England, BFI, Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund - later in July.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on what date organisations will be able to apply for support from the £1.57 billion cultural industries support package.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
On 5 July, DCMS announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of sectors, including performing arts and theatres, museums and galleries, heritage sites, live music venues and independent cinema.
We want this package, which will be delivered through Arts Council England, Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the British Film Institute, to support organisations across the cultural, heritage and creative sectors. We will publish further detailed guidance - including eligibility and application processes - as soon as possible in July.