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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has in place to support the entertainment industry in a (a) national emergency and (b) pandemic.

Responses to national emergencies and pandemics are led by the Cabinet Office, and the UK has well-developed contingency plans to respond to a wide range of scenarios.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) co-ordinated unprecedented levels of support for the cultural and creative sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, including but not limited to the Live Events Reinsurance Scheme, the Film and TV Production Restart Scheme, and the Culture Recovery Fund. Evaluations and lessons learned from these schemes will allow the UK to respond effectively to any future scenario where similar initiatives may be required.

Following our experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, DCMS has established a small, permanent incident response team which will coordinate across the Department and with the central response team in the event of a national emergency.