Festivals and Special Occasions: Insurance

(asked on 24th February 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with organisations responsible for running festivals this year on insurance issues.


Answered by
Caroline Dinenage Portrait
Caroline Dinenage
This question was answered on 1st March 2021

We are committed to continue working with the festival sector to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery. We are aware of the concerns which have been raised by the festival sector about the challenge of securing indemnity cover for live events. My officials have been working closely with festival industry stakeholders to understand the challenges and to keep the situation under review. I also chair the Events and Entertainment Working Group where I discuss these issues directly with the festival industry.

Protecting public health is of vital importance to myself and the government. We are exploring all barriers to reopening, which include potential challenges around indemnity cover. Understandably, the bar for considering Government intervention is set extremely high, especially given the considerable extension to the furlough scheme and local business support.

Given the high costs involved in setting up a scheme we also need to make sure it is the most effective and appropriate use of funds at a time when we are looking at how best to support the sector in facing the wider challenges around recovery and renewal. As such, HM Treasury does not believe that now is the right time for an insurance intervention.

At the Budget the Chancellor will set out the next phase in our economic support package to reflect the steps set out in the Prime Minister’s roadmap to easing restrictions published last month, tailoring support for individuals and businesses to reflect the changing public health restrictions.

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