The House of Lords European Affairs Committee
has today, 21 January 2022, published a further letter to the UK Government
setting out continuing concerns about the lack of provision in
the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on the movement of
creative professionals, and the impact this is having on the
creative industries and the disproportionate effect on young
musicians.
Background
On 14 September 2021 the House of Lords European Affairs
Committee heard evidence from industry experts on the impact of
the lack of provision in the TCA on the creative industries,
following the UK’s exit from the EU.
The creative industries are one of the UK’s most important export
industries, with the music industry alone valued at £5.8bn and
employing more than 100,000 people. This sector has been
particularly badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and is only
now beginning to recover. The Committee heard compelling evidence
that this recovery is critically threatened by the restrictions
on touring and performing in Europe that have been imposed as a
result of the UK’s exit from the EU. The Committee first wrote to
the Government on these matters on 19 October 2021.
The Letter
In their letter to Rt Hon Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Affairs, the Committee continues to urge the
Government to work with each EU Member State to negotiate
arrangements that enable creative professionals to tour for their
work, particularly with those Member States whose
visa-free travel arrangements are so restrictive as to make
touring impossible.
The Committee remains concerned about the
disproportionate impact of the end of free movement on young
musicians. The Committee heard clear evidence that young
classical musicians, in particular, were being forced out of the
profession because they were no longer able to travel to an EU
Member State for work at short notice.
The Committee urges the Government to make full use of
the institutional structures established under the TCA, in
addition to bilateral negotiations with Member States, to raise
these issues with the EU as a whole.
Notes to Editors
- Read the full letter on the Committee’s website: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/8569/documents/86538/default/
