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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support his Department is providing to freelancers in the culture sector who are unable to access the Culture Recovery Fund.

The Government recognises the challenge the current pandemic poses to our arts and culture sectors and to the many freelancers working across these industries. As the sector reopens, we continue to keep our cultural recovery policy under constant review.

Freelancers have been supported through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). which has so far helped 2.8m self employed. Details on future SEISS support were announced by the Chancellor in his Budget Statement in March, with an extension of the scheme to September 2021. Around 500,000 additional people have been brought into scope who filed a tax return in 2019-20, or were previously ineligible, who now may be able to claim the fourth grant.

However, it is also the case that the Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) had significant indirect benefits for freelancers. In Round 2, organisations were asked to estimate how many FTEs and freelancers were protected by the fund until the end of June. Collectively, applicants reported that 52,000 full time staff and almost 100,000 freelancers would be supported until the end of June. And ALBs were able to complement SEISS with their own interventions i.e. over £51m from ACE to individuals.

Additionally, the third round of the Culture Recovery Fund was announced on 25 June. This third and final round of funding will provide further support as the cultural, heritage and creative sectors reopen at full capacity, underlining the government’s commitment to help them build back better as life returns to normal.