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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to mitigate the economic effect to (a) businesses and (b) the economy of the cancellation of major events such as the (i) the Edinburgh International Festival (ii) The Open Championship and (iii) The Championships, Wimbledon.

We recognise the extreme disruption that the necessary actions we are taking to respond to the threat of Coronavirus, including prohibiting public gatherings and events and the fall in inbound tourism, are having on people’s lives, businesses and the nation’s economy.

That is why the Government has announced an unprecedented package of support to protect businesses across the UK, including the Job Retention Scheme (covering 80% of furloughed employees wages up to a cap of £2,500 per month), and Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (up to £2,500 per month in grants for eligible self-employed workers). These support measures are open to businesses across the UK and in every sector, including Culture, Creative Industries and Sport.

In addition, DCMS has worked with our arms-length bodies in England to establish tailored support for DCMS sectors, such as the £160m Arts Council England Emergency Fund and the £195m Sport England economic package. In the specific case of the Edinburgh International Festival, I recognise that it is a cultural asset to the whole of the United Kingdom. However, sports and the arts are devolved matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and similar schemes have been introduced by the Devolved Administrations, for example the £11m Creative Scotland fund.