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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of job retention in the events industry of not extending the support to that industry during the covid-19 outbreak.

My Department is in regular contact with Her Majesty’s Treasury to closely assess the impact of the Government’s interventions to stop the spread of COVID-19 on the events industry.

Events businesses can continue to make use of the Government’s comprehensive support package. This includes the various loan schemes, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, and the Job Retention Scheme.

We are also offering affected businesses generous terms for the repayment of deferred taxes and government-backed loans, as well as extending the application window of the government-backed loan schemes.

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