Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to reports
that orchestras and cultural venues are facing permanent closure
as a result of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(CB) [V]
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on
the Order Paper. In doing so, I draw attention to my interests in
the register.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport () (Con)
My Lords, we recognise how severely the cultural sector has been
hit by Covid-19. That is why we are providing unprecedented
assistance, including government loans and the job retention
scheme, from which hundreds of organisations have received
support, including, importantly, orchestras and cultural venues.
DCMS arm’s-length bodies have also provided tailored support. The
Arts Council, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic
England have together provided £250 million in emergency funding.
We continue to engage with the sector and we are working with
Arts Council England to ensure that we fully understand the
impacts of Covid-19 and to consider the additional measures that
are needed to ensure the long-term recovery and growth of the
cultural sector, including orchestras and cultural venues.
[V]
I thank the Minister for that response. Has the Secretary of
State’s promise of further funding been sat on from above?
Musicians, actors and artists, as well as orchestras and venues,
have either fallen between furlough and emergency funding, which
is indeed welcome, or are coming to the end of that assistance.
We have already lost one theatre and, for example, the Lighthouse
in Poole and the Manchester Camerata have only weeks of funds
left. What these and the larger organisations need now is a
definite date and figures so that they can plan ahead as
businesses and replenish both our cultural heritage and, indeed,
the coffers of the Treasury.
The noble Lord is absolutely right to highlight the importance
and variety of our cultural heritage. My right honourable friend
the Secretary of State has been absolutely clear that the
Government will continue to take action that is commensurate with
the scale of the crisis at the time that action is needed.
(Lab) [V]
I declare my interest as chair of the Design Museum in its new
premises in the former Commonwealth Institute building in
Kensington. Perhaps I may acknowledge the emergency short-term
help that has been offered by the Government to national
portfolio organisations, but this amounts to £90 million spread
over 800 cultural organisations, and therefore inevitably it is
being spread very thinly. I would remind the Minister that,
extraordinarily, after the Second World War, at a time of huge
deprivation and austerity, the Arts Council was created with
cross-party backing under the leadership of Maynard Keynes to
deliver major co-ordinated support for the performing arts,
museums and other cultural venues. Now that these entities are
once again facing the extreme financial consequences of forced
closure and further restrictions as a result of Covid-19, will
the Government mount a similarly extraordinary and co-ordinated
long-term response to sustain their existence?
The Government understand the hybrid nature of the way the arts
sector is funded in this country and are keen to encourage
funding from many different directions. The noble Lord asked
about the scale of ambition. He will be aware that the Secretary
of State has set up the Cultural Renewal Taskforce, which
includes a range of leading thinkers and experts in this field.
Its report will be very important to influencing the scale of our
ambition.
(LD) [V]
I declare my interests as a trustee of The Lowry and One Dance
UK. The situation in which cultural venues find themselves is
dire, especially without specific dates in the recovery plan.
However, does the Minister accept that this goes further? Many
organisations do not have a permanent home and rely on touring,
such as dance troupes, theatre companies, festivals and so on.
They should not be overlooked and need to be supported as well.
Will the Minister commit to ensuring that the Government do not
conflate the two? Also, if we do not get the EU-UK deal right,
does she not accept that these organisations will face another
catastrophe in a few months’ time?
The noble Baroness has raised an important point about clarity of
timing. The Secretary of State recently revealed a five-stage
road map that will allow the performing arts sector to get back
up and running, and more detailed guidance will be published
shortly. She has also raised a question about organisations that
do not have a permanent home and are touring. First, we will
obviously endeavour to ensure that they do not, in her words,
fall through the cracks. We are also working with organisations
to be innovative, including being able to perform out of doors.
(CB)
My Lords, on 8 June the Secretary of State said that he will not
stand by and see our world-leading arts and cultural sector
destroyed—but it seems to many of us that that is exactly what is
happening. The Government’s road map sets out five steps to
reopening but fails to recognise the cultural ecosystem, of which
live performance is just one part. It has no financial support
and, crucially, no timetable. Does the Minister agree that, while
definitive opening dates clearly cannot be given, a not-before
timetable, just like hospitality and hairdressing were given,
would at least enable the sector to plan properly and avoid as
far as possible job losses and further closures?
The noble Baroness is absolutely right about the ecosystem. The
department has heard that loud and clear and understands it well.
On detailed guidance as regards timings, I can only say that it
is being worked on and will be published soon.
(Con) [V]
I declare my interest as a theatre producer and a member of the
DCMS task force looking at reopening the different constituent
sectors under the DCMS. In that regard, I take this opportunity
to place on record how extraordinarily impressed I have been by
the effective work of the Secretary of State and his team, who
are working day and night to try to get all the different sectors
open as fast as possible; it is an extraordinary amount of work.
We all know that there is a mile-long queue at the Treasury for
help through this dreadful time, but the creative industries and
arts sector will lose for ever a large swathe of our regional
venues throughout the UK, particularly outside London. Can my
noble friend the Minister give us any indication of how well the
conversations with the Treasury are going, given the queue that
exists?
I thank my noble friend for his contribution as part of the task
force. We are acutely aware that, as government support unwinds,
the situation becomes much more difficult for both regional and
other theatres and venues. As the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley,
mentioned, we have seen some closures already. The Government
will not be in a position to save every venue, but we are
regularly listening to the sector, actively talking to the
Treasury and considering how best we can respond to the long-term
challenges that the sector faces.
[V]
My Lords, it is not just the performance venues that are
suffering but many churches and halls rented out for rehearsal
space. Will the Minister update the House on the progress of
research undertaken into singing and playing woodwind and brass
instruments, to see how these activities might be safely
undertaken while minimising the risk of spreading Covid-19?
Our understanding is that, as I am sure the right reverend
Prelate is aware, there is a risk of increased transmission
involved in singing and the use of wind instruments. That is why
non-professional choirs and orchestras will not resume for the
time being, although professional orchestras can start rehearsing
from 4 July on a socially distanced basis. As the right reverend
Prelate mentioned, we have commissioned scientific studies, which
are being carried out by SAGE, to try to build a really robust
evidence base. That advice will be used to inform future policy
and guidelines.
(Lab)
[V]
My Lords, do the Government accept that, as the creative
industries are distinctive in that they are mainly freelance and
self-employed, they may need special continuing support as the
recovery gathers pace? Can she explain why the practical
guidelines for live music-making have been delayed? Without them,
organisations cannot plan and audiences are deprived of the
benefits of live performance.
We absolutely recognise the nature and important role of
freelancers in these sectors. They are in the region of 72% of
the workforce, compared with 16% across the rest of the economy,
so the noble Lord raises an important point. Colleagues are
working night and day to get the guidelines out.
(LD) [V]
My Lords, my own town Blackpool has a “Know Before You Go”
campaign that sets out for visitors what is open, what they
should not do and how they should go into some venues. But a
whole part of this sector—including the most iconic visitor
attractions—still has no timeline, road map or long-term
financial assistance, as said by the noble Baroness, Lady Bull.
This is crippling to the industry and putting it in grave danger.
There is a question there.
The “Know Before You Go” scheme that the noble Lord mentioned
sounds very sensible. I can only repeat what I already said:
active work is going on with all the key sector stakeholders to
understand how we can build back better for our cultural sector.
(Con) [V]
There will be a large number of performing arts students
graduating from universities and drama schools whose short and
maybe mid-term job prospects will be looking pretty bleak. I ask
my noble friend not to forget the plight of these young people,
many of whom would have been joining touring companies, as was
mentioned earlier.
My noble friend is absolutely right: those young graduates should
not be forgotten. I think I am right in saying that in the Prime
Minister’s speech yesterday there was a particular focus on the
importance of opportunity for our young people.
(CB) [V]
My Lords, the Minister may be aware of the excellent initiative
by Wigmore Hall, which in conjunction with Radio 3 streamed and
broadcast live concerts throughout June, providing work for
artists and bringing pleasure to many. But it has proved much
more difficult for it to continue its crucial outreach work with
disadvantaged and diverse communities of many ethnicities and
backgrounds, with all the social benefits this brings. In looking
at the way ahead for the sector over the coming months, will the
Government pay particular attention to this important dimension
of our cultural landscape?
The noble and gallant Lord raises a really important point. We
know that the evidence in relation to social mobility and the
arts is very strong. In the new Arts Council England five-year
strategy, which is shortly to be published, we expect to see more
evidence of focus in exactly the areas the noble and gallant Lord
refers to.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, the whole House will welcome the positive things said
by the Minister about her department’s work, but if she puts
herself in the shoes of working musicians—not working at the
moment—or administrators, does she realise what a contrast they
will see between the extreme urgency with which the Prime
Minister launched with a fanfare yesterday all sorts of
infrastructure spending for the future and the reality in this
sector that iconic venues and great orchestras absolutely do not
know where their future is going?
Sadly, I do not have the talents to put myself in the shoes of
musicians, but I understand the point the noble Lord is making. I
can stress only that, from my perspective, in the department this
is taken extremely seriously as a matter of great urgency.
