Sally-Ann Hart (Hastings and Rye) (Con):...Those who have helped to
revive the parts of this beautiful constituency, however, are now
themselves in need of support, for they are the freelancers who are
the backbone of many of these sectors and have thus far gone
without much Government support. From musicians to artists, writers
to journalists, actors and performers, they put the soul and beat
into the streets of Hastings, and it is only right that we support
them now in their hour of need,...Request free trial
(Hastings and Rye) (Con):...Those who have helped to
revive the parts of this beautiful constituency, however, are now
themselves in need of support, for they are the freelancers who are
the backbone of many of these sectors and have thus far gone
without much Government support. From musicians to artists, writers to
journalists, actors and performers, they put the soul and beat into
the streets of Hastings, and it is only right that we support them
now in their hour of need, because once coronavirus is over and we
are out in the streets celebrating once more, we will want
our musicians actors and artists
there to entertain, inspire and lift us up after this dark episode
in human history...
(Congleton)
(Con):...Finally, I would like to talk about my constituent Lauren
Scott, a self-employed musician. We have heard a
lot about musicians in the debate, and I
would like to tell the House about Lauren’s circumstances. Lauren
is a highly professional harpist, and her husband Andy is a
composer and teacher. Over the past 10 years of my being a Member
of Parliament, no individuals have done more in my constituency to
promote the arts, and particularly the engagement of young people
in music, than Andy and Lauren Scott. I have heard Lauren perform
many times as a harpist, and I have heard one of Andy’s pieces
premiered at the Southbank Centre...
...Please could you ask for there to be
consideration to extend the SEISS for self-employed musicians and the Arts Sector.
Having high quality live events happening in major venues… is
precisely what is going to attract people to visit those city
centres.”
(Bristol
East) (Lab):...I have had constituents from all walks of life reach
out to me over the last few months—carpenters, architects, taxi
drivers, musicians accountants—and all with one
thing in common, which is that they have been very badly let down
by this Government...
...As colleagues on both sides of the Chamber have mentioned,
people in the creative sector have possibly been dealt the worst
hand of all. Many of them, especially musicians still cannot legally go back
to work. I hope the Minister listens to us all today on both sides
of the House, does the sensible thing and extends the furlough
scheme, as we heard in the previous debate, for those who cannot
return to work. However, the Chancellor also needs to listen to
what MPs are saying today, finally acknowledge the plight of the
excluded and do the right thing by them too...
(Enfield,
Southgate) (Lab):...I have many other examples, including
freelancer musicians who have received
nothing while their contemporaries in orchestras and thus on
contracts were furloughed on 80% of their pay. The Chancellor said
he will do “whatever it takes” to get us through the coronavirus
pandemic. He has totally ignored the 3 million excluded, who have
fallen through the gaps and been left to sink or swim. All that is
being asked for is that the disparity in support for the excluded
is remedied and that they be given the financial support that they
deserve and need to survive. If the Chancellor truly wants a quick
economic recovery after this crisis is over, he needs to start
listening and do whatever it takes to support the excluded, and to
do it now...
(Gordon) (SNP):...The real harm here is the damage of
exclusion—not just the immediate hardship, devastating as that is
for those affected, but the effect it will have in hampering the
economic recovery. I represent a constituency in the north-east of
Scotland that has one of the highest start-up rates for businesses
in the UK, let alone Scotland. It is no exaggeration to say that
those small businesses—those enterprises; those risk takers—are
absolutely the backbone of our economy. They include the start-ups,
the spin-outs, the home enterprises, the lifestyle businesses,
those who are working from home supporting the oil and gas and
engineering sectors, the creative businesses, those who organise
events, those involved in tourism, the
musicians—in short, the creators, the innovators,
the entrepreneurs: folk who roll up their sleeves, get their faces
dirty and in many cases, as the hon. Member for Buckingham
() said, put their homes on the line to do what they do.
Those are the people who will drive the recovery. Hammering their
finances and their ability to do all that they do best will not
just impoverish them; in the long run, it will impoverish us
all...
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