Extract from
PMQs
(Colne Valley) (Con): The
pubs are reopening, but we still will not be able to go to the
Marsden jazz festival, the Slaithwaite Philharmonic, the Holmfirth
Picturedrome, the Lawrence Batley theatre or even a Honley male
voice choir concert. Will the Prime Minister, in an effort to
support the thousands of musicians, actors and
dancers across the country who are struggling, look at replenishing
the Arts Council funds that have been redirected to the emergency
covid response so that we can have vibrant creative industries
coming out of this crisis?
The Prime Minister: The House is speaking with pretty much one
voice this afternoon. I totally share people’s sense of urgency
about wanting to get our wonderful creative culture and
theatrical sector open as fast as we can, but the House will also
remember that what we are trying to do now involves striking a
balance. It is very important, as we open up the economy, that we
do not go too far and risk a second spike and further outbreaks.
People can see what is happening in Leicester, for instance. We
need to be very careful that we do this in a prudent way. As we
open the theatres, which we will, we want to make sure that we
can do it in a covid-compliant and covid-secure way, and I am
sure that is what the House would want.
Extract from remaining
stages of the Finance Bill (day 1)
Mr (Wolverhampton South East)
(Lab):...Withdrawing support schemes at the same pace for all
sectors does not recognise that some sectors are in far more
difficulty than others, and that is particularly true for any
sector based on the idea of people gathering closely together.
Many sectors such as transport, aviation, sport, theatre,
Music and others, are global British strengths,
but right now they are on their knees. Dropping the social
distancing rule from two metres to one metre is not enough when,
in some cases, any kind of social distancing is impossible. Let
us take live Music for example, which is based
on the very opposite of social distancing. The break-even point
for many venues and events is often being 80% to 90% full, and
the change to one metre will not make that much difference to
them. We need an approach that takes into account the different
impact on different sectors...
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