Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to provide additional support to the business events industry as a result of the pause in the planned 1 October 2020 reopening of those events in England.

We are aware that the events and exhibition industry, as well as other sectors, have been severely impacted by Government measures to control the spread of Covid-19.

Businesses can continue to access the Government’s UK wide support package. This includes the Bounce Back Loans scheme, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and, until the end of October, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

On top of existing measures, the Chancellor has expanded the Job Support Scheme to provide temporary support to businesses whose premises have been legally required to close as a direct result of Covid-19 restrictions set by one or more of the four governments of the UK.

The government intends for the Chancellor’s announcement to cover those directly employed by business conferences and exhibition centres which are unable to reopen. Further detail will be set out in due course.

We continue to engage with stakeholders, including through the Visitor Economy Working Group and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to monitor the situation facing the sector.