Eighth Special Report

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee published its Ninth Report of Session 2017–19, Live Music (HC 733) on 19 March 2019. The Government’s response was received on 15 July 2019 and is appended to this report.

Appendix

THE LIVE MUSIC SUCCESS STORY—CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS 1 TO 4

1.Live music is a valuable and vibrant part of the UK’s culture; however, we cannot take its past success for granted, and must safeguard the industry and spread its benefits more evenly. Historically, this may not have been considered a role for central or local government because of the strength and profitability of the UK’s music industry; however, there are practical ways in which policymakers and local authorities can support the sector. (Paragraph 18)

The Government recognises the significant contribution of live music to the UK, both culturally and economically. Government has undertaken a number of measures to support this hugely important industry, including reforming licensing and planning guidance. The Music Export Growth Scheme has distributed over £3m to around 200 music exports projects since its inception in 2014, helping to support the launch of UK music acts to international audiences. Government remains committed to continue working with industry on a range of issues affecting the live sector including licensing and planning.

2.We recommend the establishment of regional ‘Music Boards’, comprising representatives from the music industry, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders, to advocate for the live music sector and promote its interests in planning and policy decisions. We ask the Government to support the formation of such bodies through its devolution deals, or the Local Enterprise Partnerships in areas where no combined authorities have been established. (Paragraph 19)

The Government notes this recommendation and understands that there may be interest in establishing such boards, similar to the existing London Music Board (LMB). The LMB was established in 2016 independently of central government. There is nothing to prevent this model being replicated regionally across the UK should there be interest from those in the music industry, education, the voluntary sector, and other relevant organisations, in forming such a coalition to address sector issues and work towards shared goals.

The Government recognises the value that cultural and creative industries—including music—bring to local places, and engages directly with LEPs to support the growth of these sectors in a regional level. Government has also confirmed that it will work with all Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to develop Local Industrial Strategies, which are locally-led and agreed with Government. The West Midlands Local Industrial Strategy was the very first to be published and shows the appetite that LEPs have for promoting the growth of local creative industries. It is important that this type of activity is driven from the grassroots up to ensure it is compatible with an area’s regional and local priorities and needs. Government is then ready to engage accordingly and potentially provide appropriate support.

3.We ask the Competition and Markets Authority to consider conducting a market study of the music industry to assess whether competition in the market is working effectively for both consumers and those working in the industry. (Paragraph 20)

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is an independent regulator and takes its own decisions regarding market studies.

However, it should be recalled that in 2016 Professor Waterson undertook a Government Review of consumer protection measures in the ticketing market more generally, which of course is of significant interest to the music industry. A key recommendation was that the laws which were put in place should be applied and tested. In its 2017 response the Government agreed and the CMA and the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) have subsequently worked together to take enforcement action against ticketing platforms and sellers where necessary. This has had some impact on the information provided to consumers but work is ongoing.

4.We welcome the abolition of the Metropolitan Police’s form 696 following concerns that it unfairly targeted certain artists and audiences, but it is concerning to hear that prejudices against urban acts persist. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Home Office should work together to develop guidance for licensing authorities, police forces and music venues on how to collaborate on managing risks to ensure that urban music acts are not unfairly targeted. (Paragraph 24)

Artists and their audiences should not be unfairly targeted simply because of the type of music they choose to perform or listen to. Music from a wide range of genres should be encouraged and embraced, building on the UK’s rich musical history. Although the Metropolitan Police took the decision to abolish the use of form 696 in London, the Government is aware of anecdotal evidence suggesting this form or similar is now being used elsewhere in the UK.

The Government also acknowledges the Committee’s concerns about persistent negative attitudes towards urban music acts. The Government will continue working with stakeholders, to assess the situation and consider possible next steps. Should significant evidence be presented demonstrating a tangible problem, the Government will consider exploring this as part of a future work strand aimed at protecting and growing the grassroots music sector.

PROBLEMS IN THE TICKETING MARKET—CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS 5 TO 10

5.We welcome the changes that the Advertising Standards Authority and Competition and Markets Authority have secured to the business practices of some of the major secondary ticketing platforms; however, we regret that such time and public money is being spent on bringing the platforms, principally viagogo, into line with consumer law that they should have complied with from the outset. We believe that viagogo has yet to prove itself a trustworthy operator given its history of resisting compliance, court orders and parliamentary scrutiny, and flouting consumer law. We recognise that it will take the CMA time to prepare evidence on whether viagogo is compliant with the court order against it; however, we are concerned that while that work takes place, consumers remain vulnerable to the site’s misleading sales practices. It is imperative that the CMA acts promptly and decisively to bring viagogo into line with consumer law and, until it does so, we advise the public not to buy or sell tickets via viagogo. (Paragraph 41)

The Government is committed to cracking down on unacceptable behaviour in the ticketing market and improving fans’ chances of buying tickets at a reasonable price. As noted by the Committee elsewhere in its report, the Government has strengthened legislation in this area, and recent announcements of action by enforcement agencies demonstrate that we are prepared to go after those who flout the law or abuse the ticketing market.

As set out earlier in this response, Professor Waterson undertook a Government Review of consumer protection measures in the ticketing market that was published in 2016. A key recommendation was that the laws put into place should be applied and tested. In its 2017 response to the Waterson Review Government agreed with this and subsequently, the Competition and Markets Authority and the National Trading Standards Board have worked together to take enforcement action against ticketing platforms and sellers where necessary.

6.StubHub and viagogo’s ultimate compliance with consumer law should mitigate many of the problems that consumers have previously experienced; however, it would be naive to assume all problems will immediately cease. Indeed, this is recognised in the primary market, which has the STAR Code of Practice and Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme, both of which are also needed in the secondary market. Fans need a quicker and easier process for dispute resolution; given that the ticketing market is the first stage in most fans’ journeys, poor experiences risk blighting people’s enjoyment of live music and draining even more money out of the industry. (Paragraph 46)

The Government acknowledges the continuing work of the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailer (STAR) as an advocate for a responsible ticketing market, including its comprehensive Code of Practice and work as an approved consumer body for Alternative Dispute Resolution.

The STAR Code of Practice has always covered primary ticket sales and was updated in 2017 to include secondary ticket sales as well. Resale platforms that comply with the law and the Code are therefore already eligible to become members of STAR. The Government encourages them to do so, so that they become part of the industry-wide efforts to improve transparency in the sector and provide a mechanism for customers with outstanding complaints to seek redress through an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme.

As regards industry codes the STAR code is a voluntary one put in place by a trade body. While STAR is open to the secondary sites joining there is no equivalent trade body in the secondary sector. The platforms have developed their own ticket guarantee schemes, the operation of which, the CMA has been looking at in its work on the market.

7.The Breaching of Limits on Ticket Sales Regulations 2018 are a welcome step in the fight against ticket touts; however, they are not the only solution to the harvesting of tickets. Robust enforcement, technological solutions and the work of primary platforms will be central to combating the use of bots. We request that in its response to this report the Government lays out how it intends to review the effectiveness of the regulations. We also ask the Government to publish a review of the regulations no later than 18 months from their coming into force, and for it to include how much has been spent by National Trading Standards on monitoring and enforcement activity related to the regulations. (Paragraph 51)

The Government welcomes the Committee’s support for the Breaching of Limits on Ticket Sales Regulations 2018, and recognises that it can only be part of a package of legislative, enforcement and technological measures to combat abuses in the ticketing market.

Post Implementation Reviews of legislation are normally completed around three to five years from the measure coming into force and on a repeating five-year cycle thereafter, or according to any statutory deadlines. The Government needs to see a proper period of time elapse before evaluating the effectiveness of these Regulations. The Government also needs to assess the impact on the ticketing market from current moves at a European level for all Member States to put in place legislation in this area. It is worth noting that at EU level changes are being made to the list of unfair commercial practices in Annex I of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005 to address the practice of bots use and so any review would sensibly need to wait for that to be implemented and to have had a running period.

For these reasons, the Government believes that a review of the regulations within 18 months after their introduction will be too soon to assess their effectiveness but will plan to do so within the usual timeframe set out for Post Implementation Reviews.

8.This is a time of significant change in the ticketing market, as illustrated by Ticketmaster’s new integrated platform; however, voluntary fan-to-fan exchange is not going to solve all the problems in the secondary market. Touting for profit, or harvesting tickets ahead of other consumers, is still a major source of consumer dissatisfaction. We recognise the industry’s adoption of technological solutions such as digital ticketing or terms and conditions limiting resale; however, it is important that these are always exercised in the interests of consumers and are not used to stifle competition or unfairly penalise fans who have unknowingly bought tickets on resale sites. (Paragraph 54)

The music industry itself has a responsibility to adopt practices that maximise the opportunity for consumers to get access to tickets via the primary market. Given the cost and the timing of the sales, industry should also consider how consumers who ultimately are unable to attend an event can be protected.

9.It is firstly the responsibility of the advertiser to ensure that they are complying with the advertising code and consumer protection law when marketing their goods and services to potential customers. However, media owners also have a responsibility to the audiences they serve. Google has repeatedly allowed ticket resellers to target customers with products that are being sold in breach of Google’s own ad policies and UK law. It is time for companies such as Google to take more responsibility and act against such advertising, or else be considered to be knowingly making money out of fraudulent selling. (Paragraph 59)

AND

10.We ask the Government to set out the responsibilities of companies such as Google to ensure that adverts targeted at their users comply with UK consumer protection law. This should include what action these companies should take against the adverts themselves, and the advertisers. Ticket sellers found to be trading in breach of the law should be prevented from advertising. Companies such as Google should also face some sanction for failing to act against sellers in breach of the law. (Paragraph 60)

As with any other business, the Government expects secondary ticketing platforms to comply with the terms of service associated with search engines’ advertising facilities, and for those search engines to take timely and decisive action against businesses that fail to comply with these terms.

Search engines have shown in the past that they are prepared to take action, including taking down advertisements that breach their terms of service, and banning advertisers from using their service in the case of repeated violations. The Government expects them to continue to be vigilant to identify and take action against advertisers in a timely manner.

Google are bound by ASA rules and UK consumer law as regards material that is targeted at UK consumers.

As announced by the Secretary of State on 12 February 2019, DCMS is carrying out a review into Online Advertising and how it is regulated in the UK. The review is still in its scoping phase, but will assess the features of online advertising that allow harms to occur, identifying any potential gaps that may exist in the regulatory system.

CHALLENGES FACING MUSIC VENUES—CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS 11 TO 15

11.The closure of music venues presents a significant and urgent challenge to the UK’s music industry and cultural vibrancy. The Government has not acted promptly enough to stem the tide of these closures, which have been happening at a rate unprecedented in other cultural sectors for more than 10 years. The full impact of these closures may not be felt immediately; however, there is a real threat that without access to spaces to hone their live craft, the next generation of musicians will struggle to maintain the UK’s position at the forefront of the industry. (Paragraph 65)

Grassroots music venues are where so many of our world-class musicians take their first steps on the road to success. They are a vibrant and vital part of the UK’s successful creative industries and must be allowed to prosper. The Government has taken a number of steps to protect small and grassroots venues - introducing the Live Music Act in 2012 making it easier for promoters and venues to put on live music events and in 2015, enhancing provisions within the Act to increase audience limits for live music from 200 to 500. These are significant and positive measures to help music and other cultural venues. UK Music’s excellent Wish You Were Here 2017 report showed that the number of grassroots venues in London stabilised for the first time in a decade.

The music industry as a whole also needs to consider how to ensure platforms such as grassroots venues remain available for emerging talent. Public investment and initiatives can form a part of this, but to receive public funding some small venues may need to adapt existing business models to focus more strongly on social value—for example, reaching out to new and diverse audiences. That is why Government welcomes initiatives such as the Music Venues Trust’s new pipeline investment fund which aims to unite the music industry and key stakeholders around a statement of intent designed to explore how best to protect, secure and improve grassroots music venues for the benefit of grassroots artists.

As already stated, the Government will continue working with industry—including UK Music, Music Venue Trust, Independent Venue Week and Neko Trust—and across government on a range of issues affecting the live music industry. Government aims to look at a number of areas which may include, but not be limited to, planning, licensing and development as part of a wider piece of work aimed at protecting and growing the grassroots music sector.

12.Business rate rises and applying for associated reliefs place a financial and administrative burden on already over-stretched grassroots music venues and independent festivals. The Government should immediately review the impact of recent business rates changes on the live music sector and introduce new, or extend existing, relief schemes, such as those for pubs or small retail properties, to lessen the burden of business rates on music venues. (Paragraph 71)

The Government concluded a fundamental review of business rates in 2016, and has taken repeated action to reduce the burden of business rates for all ratepayers. Since Budget 2016 the Government has introduced a range of business rates measures in England worth more than £13bn over the next five years. This includes switching from RPI to CPI indexation – benefiting all businesses - increasing the frequency of revaluations, and doubling the threshold for 100% Small Business Rate Relief to £12,000 from April 2017 – meaning 655,000 of the smallest businesses, including some small music venues, now pay no business rates at all.

The Government has also introduced a £3.6bn transitional relief scheme to support those business facing bill increases following the 2017 revaluation.

13.We welcome the inclusion of the ‘agent of change’ principle in planning policy as there is a legal obligation on local authorities to comply with it; however, robust and consistent implementation of the principle nationwide is crucial for it to be of meaningful benefit to live music venues. Moreover, the principle does not address the full array of development pressures that live music venues experience. We recommend that in the next legislative session the Government appoints a statutory consultative body to promote the protection of music venues, provide advice to local authorities on relevant planning applications and monitor how ‘agent of change’ is applied in practice around the country. (Paragraph 76)

Following close and productive work between the live music industry and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the agent of change principle was implemented in planning policy as part of the revised National Planning Policy Framework, published in July 2018. It applied to planning decisions on publication, and planning policies in local plans submitted after 24 January 2019. The relevant planning guidance will also be updated shortly. The Government will continue working with industry to monitor how both individual cases, and local plan policies implement the policy.

Planning law prescribes circumstances where consultation must take place between a local planning authority and certain organisations, prior to a decision being made on an application. The organisations in question, known as statutory consultees, are under a duty to respond to the local planning authority within a set deadline and must provide a substantive response to the application in question. They also have to provide annual reports on their performance in meeting the 21 day deadline in the order.

Local planning authorities are also able to produce and publish a locally specific list of non-statutory consultees, where there are planning policy reasons to engage them.

Any interested party can make representations on a planning application; it is not restricted to statutory consultees. While the live music industry does not have a representative that is a statutory consultees on planning applications, they can work proactively with local councils to identify developments where they might have an interest, and can comment on proposals within the statutory public consultation period. Where they raise issues that are material to the determination of the application in question, local planning authorities must take these into account in reaching a decision. The decision to grant or refuse a planning application ultimately rests with the local planning authority, taking into account all relevant planning considerations and not just the advice from one consultee.

The Government believes appointing a new statutory consultee at this time would not be appropriate. However, we do recognise that planning policy, or the decision-making process, cannot address all the pressures live music venues face as a result of being part of mixed-use, vibrant communities. It is important that the departments leading on policies impacting venues, including DCMS, MHCLG and the Home Office continuing working with the sector through regular meetings, sharing of evidence and exchanging ideas and good practice.

14.The Government is expected to produce post-legislative memorandums within three to five years of legislation gaining Royal Assent; however, we are yet to receive such a memorandum for the Live Music Act 2012. The Government needs to conduct thorough scrutiny of the impact of the Act this year. We request that the Government supplies us with a full post-legislative memorandum for the Live Music Act 2012 before the end of this parliamentary session. We believe that the Government should amend the Act to extend its provisions to venues with a capacity over 500 and beyond 11pm and ask for the memorandum to consider these proposals and set out the Government’s intentions for them. We also ask the Government to extend the creative industries tax relief to support other forms of music production, in addition to that already given for orchestral performances. (Paragraph 85)

We do not believe it is necessary to undertake a post-legislative scrutiny of the Live Music Act 2012 (LMA 2012) at this stage. The LMA 2012 was introduced to deregulate specific requirements within the Licensing Act 2003, in order to reduce burdens on grassroots music venues making it easier for them to operate. A full post-legislative scrutiny of the Licensing Act 2003 was undertaken in 2017 to inform the Government response to the House of Lords Licensing Act 2003 Committee’s Inquiry. As part of this work, the impact and effectiveness of the LMA 2012 were considered and in its response, the Government set out that:

• It believes the Live Music Act 2012 is working broadly as intended
• There is no case at present for further deregulation, let alone complete removal of all live music related legislation from the Licensing Act.

Further to introducing the Act, the Government has undertaken a number of other measures to support live music:

• Further enhancing provisions within the Act to increase audience limits for live music from 200 to 500;
• Making changes to the permitted development rights, making it easier for well-established music and cultural venues to operate;
• Inclusion of the agent of change principle in the National Planning Policy Framework to help protect venues when new housing is built;
• Working closely with the Mayor of London’s office, UK Music and a range of other stakeholders on the abolition of Form 696; and
• And the Music Export Growth Scheme has distributed over £3m to around 200 live music export projects since its inception in 2014.

The Government will continue working with industry on a range of issues affecting the live sector.

The Government keeps all tax reliefs under review, and does not have any current plans to extend the existing creative sector tax reliefs to new sectors. HM Treasury would need to assess any new tax relief for its effectiveness at meeting its objectives, cost to the Exchequer, wider economic impacts and ability to stand up to abuse. The current creative sector tax reliefs are targeted at incentivising and supporting the creation of a cultural product, rather than where the product is created or performed.

15.It is unsurprising that the live music sector has a history of under-engagement with Government and funding bodies, given the staffing constraints many venues face and the low rates of support for grassroots venues in Arts Council England’s flagship funding programme. Nonetheless, we recognise that the current imbalance in funding is not sustainable and welcome ACE’s commitment to engage with music venues and learn from its experiences with other sectors. We ask that in its next ten-year strategy, the Arts Council makes explicit how it plans to redress the balance in funding for grassroots venues and contemporary music, with a view to securing the infrastructure and leadership that will enable them to maximise business opportunities.(Paragraph 91)

ACE is in the process of developing its next ten-year strategy, which is due to be released later this year. ACE has welcomed engagement from a wide range of stakeholders during consultation on the strategy, including many from the live music sector. As the strategy develops, there will be further opportunities for consultation. Additionally, ACE have announced a new ring-fenced £1.5m budget—Project Grants: Supporting Grassroots Live Music—to support projects hosting and promoting live music in grassroots venues.

THREATS TO THE TALENT PIPELINE—CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS 16 TO 22

16.While there are many different routes into a career in music, without access to an appropriate education, high-quality facilities or reliable income streams, people from a diverse range of backgrounds will struggle to build viable careers in the industry. It is impossible to know where the next multi-million-selling artist or classical virtuoso will come from, and it is therefore important that young people and musicians have opportunities to develop their talent irrespective of their socioeconomic background. (Paragraph 93)

AND

17.We welcome the Government’s intention to review the music curriculum. The Government’s independent expert panel should engage musicians from different genres, stakeholders from across the music industry, and young people to ensure the new model music curriculum reflects how people make and consume music in the modern age, as well as the industry’s skills-needs now and into the future. (Paragraph 98)

The Government agrees that every child should be entitled to a high-quality music education. Music remains a compulsory subject in the National Curriculum from age 5 to 14 for state maintained schools, and like maintained schools, academies must provide a broad and balanced curriculum. Ofsted’s new inspection arrangements, which will be introduced in September, place a renewed focus on schools ensuring all pupils receiving a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum, which includes the provision of music and arts subjects, as exemplified by the national curriculum.

Our National Plan for Music Education, published in 2011, sets out our vision for a music education system that enables children from all backgrounds and every part of England to have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument; to make music with others; to learn to sing; and to have the opportunity to fulfill their potential. As part of the plan, the Government has established music education hubs, which have grown to a network of 120 working with 89% of state schools. We are reviewing the National Plan for Music Education and will be consulting widely to inform its future direction.

In addition, to support the high-quality teaching of music, the Government announced in January 2019 that we are developing a non-statutory model music curriculum. This new model curriculum is being developed by a group of teachers, education leaders and musicians. It will provide schools with a sequenced and structured template curriculum for Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. As well as ensuring all pupils can benefit from knowledge rich and diverse lessons, the aim is that the curriculum will make it easier for teachers to plan lessons and help to reduce workload. This document builds on but does not replace the statutory National Curriculum, which was reviewed in 2014. The work on a model curriculum will not change the statutory requirements, but rather will support teachers in delivering high quality music lessons.

Music industry groups and practitioners are being involved in the development of both the model music curriculum and the review of the National Plan for Music Education.

18.In 2013 our predecessor Committee recommended in its report on ‘Supporting the creative economy’ that arts be included in the list of approved EBacc subjects, and the concerns we have heard during this inquiry suggest the need is no less pressing now. We repeat the call for arts subjects to be added to the EBacc to ensure all students benefit from a creative education at GCSE. (Paragraph 103)

The subjects that make up the EBacc are based on those which best equip pupils for further study or the workplace and are considered essential for many degrees. They provide a sound basis for a variety of careers beyond the age of 16. In 2018 on average, pupils in state-funded schools entered eight GCSEs and equivalent qualifications, rising to nine for pupils with high prior attainment.

The EBacc does not mean that pupils can no longer take GCSE arts subjects. It was specifically designed to be limited in size, consisting of 5 subject areas: English, maths, science, history or geography and languages. This enables pupils to have the opportunity to continue to study other important subjects such as music and art & design at GCSE.

Since the EBacc was announced in 2010, the proportion of young people taking at least one arts GCSE has fluctuated across years, but has remained broadly stable. Additionally the percentage of time spent teaching music in secondary schools has remained broadly stable.

The Government also knows that many students decide not to study arts subjects as academic subjects, but nevertheless continue to develop skills, knowledge and enjoy taking part in the arts, in school and out, by, for example, singing in choirs, playing in orchestras and bands, and acting in school plays.

As part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to the arts, the Department for Education (DfE) committed almost £500m of funding in 2016–20 to support a diverse portfolio of music and arts education programmes, making it the second highest funded element of the curriculum behind PE. These programmes are designed to improve access to the arts for all children, regardless of their background, and to develop talent across the country. This includes over £300m for music education hubs, almost £120m for the Music and Dance Scheme, which allows exceptionally talented children to attend specialist music and dance institutions, and over £16m for a variety of cultural education programmes including Saturday Art and Design Clubs, the National Youth Dance Company and the BFI’s Film Academy programme.

19.Music Education Hubs are a valuable resource and we welcome the Government’s commitment to extending the National Plan for Music Education beyond 2020. However, we are concerned that not enough is known about how provision varies between Hubs and not enough emphasis is put on sharing best practice. As part of its review into the effectiveness of the existing National Plan for Music Education, the Government should conduct a thorough study of where provision by Hubs is good and where it could be improved. We recommend that any future plan ensures all Hubs have sufficient financial resources and workplace expertise to perform high quality evaluation of their work and impact, and that improved processes are in place to monitor performance and share best practice. (Paragraph 106)

In 2012 the Government established a network of music education hubs to support the teaching of music both in and out of school. These 120 hubs are being supported by over £300m between 2016 and 2020.

In January 2019, the Government increased the music education hubs’ funding by an extra £1.33m. According to an independent report, the hubs have reached 89% of schools and seen over 700,000 pupils learning instruments together with their classmates in 2016/17.

DfE and DCMS work closely with Arts Council England (ACE) as fundholders to monitor the delivery of the music education hubs programme. The Arts Council is accountable for the oversight of music education hubs and the hubs’ delivery of their core and extension roles, and improvements to local and national provision.

Music education hubs work collaboratively and in partnership with a wide range of organisations. ACE is investing £500k during 2018–20 in a hub support programme of activity which supports sharing of effective practice and opportunities for development. Hubs are taking an active role in their development and have helped to shape this programme. Many hubs engage in local and national peer learning networks, including those supported by Music Mark. Drawing on the expertise within hubs will be important in helping shape the new National Plan for Music Education (NPME).

Birmingham City University has been commissioned to undertake an independent analysis of hub data. This analysis is undertaken each year and the resultant report is published on the Arts Council’s website alongside hubs’ performance data. The report is expected to be published early in the autumn. The Government will be reviewing the NPME for 2020, and will consider the Committee’s recommendation as part of that process. Drawing on the expertise within hubs will be important in helping shape the new NPME.

20.Structural problems within the music industry limit artists’ ability to earn a sustainable income, and that in turn risks excluding sections of society from a career in music. The industry needs to ensure a greater proportion of its revenues is channelled into supporting artists at the early stages of their careers. We recommend that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and UK Music convene a taskforce this year comprised of musicians’ representatives and corporate stakeholders to explore how the industry may be supported and incentivised to invest more effectively in supporting grassroots talent. (Paragraph 113)

There are a number of organisations already doing excellent work here. For example, the PRS Foundation invests in the future of music by supporting talent development; British Underground produces international showcases and strategic development projects in music and the arts focusing on international success; Youth Music invests in music-making projects, bringing opportunities for children to learn new musical genres and supporting ground-breaking initiatives in deprived areas; through its MAP (music academic partnership) UK Music is linking industry and academia on collaborative projects such as research and careers events, informing and engaging with the next generation of industry professionals and providing opportunities to individuals who want to build careers in the music industry.

And, as already mentioned, the Music Venues Trust’s new pipeline investment fund aims to unite the music industry and key stakeholders around a statement of intent designed to explore how best to protect, secure and improve grassroots music venues for the benefit of grassroots artists.

The Government works closely with all these organisations and will continue to do so to ensure that the UK can continue to produce and nurture outstanding artists and music industry professionals. Again, there is potential for this to be further explored as part of the wider piece of work around the grassroots music sector and the Government will consider hosting a roundtable bringing together those representing artists and appropriate corporate stakeholders for an initial discussion.

21.Ensuring frictionless travel for musicians, touring personnel and their equipment is essential for musicians to continue to access work opportunities abroad, and for foreign artists to tour to the UK. We support the industry’s calls for the introduction of an EU-wide touring visa, which the Government should pursue in its future relationship with the European Union. We also urge the Government to resist any arrangements that would result in the reintroduction of temporary customs documents for touring equipment. (Paragraph 116)

The Government recognises that touring is the life-blood of the music industry and is working to secure the best possible arrangements for the Creative Industries sector as part of our future relationship with the EU. The White Paper on the Future Skill-Based Immigration System, published in December 2018, set out plans for supporting professionals in the Creative Industries to continue to work in the EU and vice versa, including reciprocal mobility arrangements for temporary workers, such as touring musicians and crews.

On touring equipment, the Political Declaration, agreed with the EU on the terms of our future relationship, sets out the government’s plans for a wide-reaching agreement on culture with the EU that will enable the Creative Industries to continue to benefit from cultural exchange and cooperation. It contains a specific reference to the importance of mobility and temporary movement of objects and equipment in enabling cooperation in the cultural and creative sectors.

22.Given the Migration Advisory Committee’s failure to mention the creative industries in its report, it is important that the Government gives due consideration to the needs of the creative industries when formulating its post-Brexit immigration policy. We welcome the fact that the Government will undertake further consultation before deciding on the salary threshold for skilled workers; however, we maintain the view that salary is not an accurate reflection of value to the country’s cultural life or economy. We repeat our call for the Government to develop an immigration policy that recognises the broader contribution individuals make, beyond their salary level. We also ask the Government to detail in its response to this report how it will engage with the music industry and consider the industry’s views in the formulation of its immigration policy. (Paragraph 121)

Freedom of movement will end when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union and the new immigration system will be rolled out in 2021. Our immigration system will be based on skills, not nationality. And we will continue to attract the most talented people from across the world to come to the UK.

The Migration Advisory Committee advised that a £30,000 salary threshold should apply. Government is engaging with the music industry as businesses deliver evidence during the year long consultation period. For example, on Wednesday 5 June, Minister for Digital and Culture, Margot James MP and Immigration Minister Caroline Noakes MP met with representatives from the creative industries as part of the Home Office’s extensive 12-month programme of engagement on the future skills based immigration system.