Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 18 January (HL Deb, col 1553) that "issues around friction-free visa travel within the European Union and changes to border requirements are high on the agenda", whether this will include discussion of a visa-waiver agreement for the performing arts between the UK and the EU at the next meeting of the EU–UK Partnership Council.

We raised the issue of touring artists at the first Partnership Council meeting on 9 June and at the Specialised Committee on Services, Investment and Digital Trade on 11 October. The agenda for the next meeting of the Partnership Council will be agreed with our EU counterparts in due course. We will ensure that priority issues for the UK are discussed at the meeting and our interests protected.

21 out of 27 EU Member States, including France, Spain, Germany and Italy, have confirmed that UK musicians and performers do not need visas or work permits for some short-term touring. It is important that we recognise that these routes do exist, to ensure our creative professionals are not discouraged and can resume touring with confidence.

We are continuing to work with the remaining 6 Member States that do not allow any visa or permit free touring to encourage them to adopt a more flexible approach. We do enable visa-free visits from EU citizens, but we wish to retain control of how we apply the policy.