Tourism Industry: Covid-19
(Eastbourne) (Con)
What steps his Department is taking to support the recovery of
the tourism industry from the covid-19 pandemic.
(Crawley) (Con)
What steps his Department is taking to support the recovery of
the tourism industry from the covid-19 pandemic.
(Sittingbourne and Sheppey) (Con)
What steps his Department is taking to support the recovery of
the tourism industry from the covid-19 pandemic.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport ()
We recognise the impact of covid-19 on the tourism industry,
which is why we published the tourism recovery plan to help the
sector to return to pre-pandemic levels as quickly as possible
and build back better for the future. The Government have already
provided over £25 billion of support to the tourism, leisure and
hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.
As our plan sets out, we will continue to support the sector as
it recovers.
I thank my hon. Friend for his answer and for his visit last week
to my beautiful constituency of Eastbourne, where he will have
seen no shortage of ambition or potential—only a shortage of new
recruits to the hospitality workforce. What plans do he and the
Department have to promote careers in hospitality and tourism,
which is a vital sector in the UK and in Eastbourne? Would
maintaining the 5% VAT rate help employers to offer ever more
competitive wages?
It was a joy to join my hon. Friend in her incredibly sunny and
warm constituency last week and see at first hand the hard work
she has been doing on behalf of her constituents, and
particularly those in the tourism sector. I know she shares my
view that developing skills and careers within tourism and
hospitality is vital for the sector’s recovery. As stated in the
tourism recovery plan, we will work closely with the sector to
ensure that businesses can employ more UK nationals in year-round
better paid, high-quality tourism jobs. Regarding extending the
temporary VAT cut, as we discussed last week, including with her
constituents, the Government keep all taxes under review. I have
noted her suggestion and I am sure that Treasury Ministers have,
too.
[V]
Inbound tourism in normal times contributes about £28 billion to
the UK economy. What discussions has my hon. Friend had with
other Departments about reopening safe international travel so
that UK tourism jobs can be protected and indeed grown as we go
forward?
I know what a great champion my hon. Friend is for tourism and
international travel, as we heard at Prime Minister’s questions
yesterday. He is right that inbound tourism is vital. A lot of
talk has been about outbound tourism, which is also a really
important sector, but, in 2019, 40 million visitors came to the
UK, spent money and had a great time. We are having frequent
conversations. I talk to the Under-Secretary of State for
Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Witney ()—the aviation Minister—and others on an almost daily
basis. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy also has an interest in this area. I can therefore
assure my hon. Friend that we are having many cross-Government
discussions about the importance of the tourism, international
travel and aviation sectors.
[V]
As more people decide to holiday at home in the UK, we have a
golden opportunity to improve the economy of our seaside
communities, some of which have high levels of social
deprivation. However, to direct visitors to those areas, we need
more brown tourist signs on motorways and major trunk roads. What
support can my hon. Friend give to the campaign in my
constituency to get Highways England to put up a brown tourist
sign on the M2 to showcase the many wonderful attractions on the
Isle of Sheppey?
I commend my hon. Friend for his work on behalf of tourism
businesses on the Isle of Sheppey. The purpose of brown signs is
primarily to direct road users to a tourism attraction or
facility to aid the efficient management of traffic. They are not
meant to be billboards or adverts as such, but, as he
articulated, they do fulfil a useful purpose. He will be aware
that such decisions are for local authorities and Highways
England, but I appeal to them to listen sympathetically to his
request.
(Leeds
North West) (Lab/Co-op [V])
I have been speaking to leaders in the tourism industry who are
distinctly underwhelmed by the Minister’s tourism recovery plan.
An inclusivity ambassador, a rail pass and £10 million of
vouchers is not the level of ambition that they were expecting
from the much vaunted plan. In particular, coach operators,
fairgrounds and tour guides missed out on support during the
pandemic. What sector-specific support does the Minister plan to
give to those areas that missed out on support during the
lockdown and pandemic and had to suffer through three consecutive
winters with a lack of support from the Government?
To date, as the hon. Member will be aware, the Government have
provided more than £25 billion of support for the tourism,
hospitality and leisure sector. That may not be appreciated by
him but I know it has been by the sector as a whole. We are
continuing to give support and that number will go up
considerably. In terms of the sectors that have not automatically
qualified for assistance, that is precisely why, as I have stated
in the Chamber, the additional restrictions grants were out
there—more than £1 billion of funding to help those sectors that
did not automatically qualify—and we will keep the support under
review constantly. Many in the sector welcome the ambition in the
tourism recovery plan not only to get back to 2019 levels of
tourism activity domestically and inbound, but to go well beyond
that, and I hope that the Opposition will work with me and others
to achieve that goal.
Channel 4
(Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
What recent discussions his Department has had with relevant
stakeholders on the future of Channel 4.
(Slough) (Lab)
What plans the Government have to privatise Channel 4.
(Stockport) (Lab)
What plans the Government have to privatise Channel 4.
The Minister for Media and Data (
)
As part of our ongoing strategic review of the UK’s system of
public service broadcasting, the Government are consulting this
summer on the future of Channel 4, including its ownership model
and remit, and we intend to engage a broad range of stakeholders
to inform any decisions taken.
[V]
As part of its public service broadcaster responsibilities,
Channel 4 does not have an in-house production function, relying
on independent external production houses. Former Channel 4
commissioning editor Peter Grimsdale said that over 1,000 such
production companies have been supported over the years. How do
the Government mean to support those production houses if they
sell off Channel 4, or do the thousands of jobs that would be
destroyed in the sector not matter to this Tory Government?
Mr Whittingdale
The hon. Lady is right that Channel 4 does not have an in-house
production company, which means that it is entirely dependent on
advertising revenue, which is one of the reasons why we think it
right to look at the ownership model, but it does support
independent production right across the United Kingdom. That is
part of its remit and we intend to preserve the remit, although
we will be examining whether that needs to be changed—indeed,
possibly strengthened in some areas—as part of our consultation.
Mr Dhesi
Channel 4 is a great British success story and an iconic
institution. It has invested £12 billion in the independent
production sector and regional TV, given voice to local
communities across our country, and exported content around the
world; and it has recorded a record £74 million financial
surplus. Despite all those successes, for the sixth time, the
Conservative Government are seeking to privatise it, even though
they concluded just four years ago that that was a very bad idea.
Could that possibly be because “Channel 4 News” is doing a solid
job, in particular, of holding an incompetent and crony-connected
Government to account?
Mr Whittingdale
I share the hon. Gentleman’s view that Channel 4, which was, of
course, the creation of a Conservative Government, has done an
excellent job and it is our intention to sustain it into the
future. That is why we believe that now is the right time to look
at its future ownership, because it is coming under increasing
pressure due to the changes taking place in the way in which
television is consumed. While I may not always agree with
“Channel 4 News”, I do believe it does a good job. I very
strongly support plurality of news providers and would expect
that Channel 4 will continue to feature a news service as part of
its future offering, and that would remain part of its remit.
John McVay, the chief executive of the Producers Alliance for
Cinema and Television, has described Channel 4 as
“a catalyst for generations of entrepreneurs”,
which
“plays a critical role in the UK’s broadcasting ecology”,
having
“invested in hundreds of independent production companies over
the nearly 40 years of its existence, enabling and improving
access, skills, international activity and diversity.”
Would the Minister agree with me that selling off this precious
public asset to an overseas competitor with no remit for
commissioning innovative British content would be a body blow to
the UK’s creative economy?
Mr Whittingdale
I agree that selling off Channel 4 with no remit would be a
mistake and that is certainly not our intention. John McVay, who
is somebody I know well and have a great deal of respect for, is
right that Channel 4 has done an excellent job in investing in
independent production, but it is up against competition from big
streaming services that can make 10 times the kind of investment
that Channel 4 is capable of. That is why we think it is the
right time to look at its ownership in order that, potentially,
it can have access to much greater capital, which it will need in
order to have a thriving future.
(Solihull) (Con) [V]
My own personal view, and I stress that it is my personal view,
is that the recovery of Channel 4 and the evolving media
landscape warrant close consideration of privatisation and sale.
Four years is a lifetime in the modern media marketplace. Does
the Minister agree that this would be a good juncture at which
also to consider whether Channel 4 could be bolstered by a merger
with ITV or even by hiving off BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm
of the BBC, which has often underperformed but has tremendous
international potential to build scale for Channel 4?
Mr Whittingdale
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and I commend him and his Select
Committee for the excellent report on public service broadcasting
that they produced recently, which drew attention to the fact
that the way in which we consume television is changing fast and
that the switch from linear to digital is taking place even more
quickly than some people anticipated. We have reached no
conclusion as to the appropriate future ownership model for
Channel 4—we maintain a completely open mind—but he raises a
number of interesting possibilities and we look forward to seeing
what submissions we receive as part of the consultation.
(Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP) [V]
The case for the privatisation of Channel 4 was, of course,
debunked by the then Secretary of State last time the issue
reared its head. I think her assessment was that it would be too
much grief for too little money. Privatisation would see profit
put first, a slash in the £500 million that goes annually to
independent production companies, a centralisation of
headquarters—the antithesis of levelling up—and likely cuts to
Channel 4’s brilliant news and current affairs programming.
Channel 4 recorded record profits last year and it does not cost
the taxpayer a penny. Given that this much-loved institution is
profitable and free, why do Ministers want to do down Britain and
sell it off to avaricious American investors?
Mr Whittingdale
The hon. Gentleman is wrong on several counts. It is the case
that Channel 4 recorded a profit last year, and I commend the
management for taking the action that made that possible, but the
reason they did so was because they cut the amount of money that
they spent on content by £140 million in anticipation of a big
fall in advertising revenue, which indeed took place. It is to
sustain Channel 4 going forward that we are looking at the
possibility of alternative ownership models, and it would
certainly be our intention that Channel 4 would do more outside
London and across the United Kingdom, not less.
(City of
Chester) (Lab)
“Countdown”, “Derry Girls”, “Gogglebox”, “The Word”, “It’s a
Sin”, “Chewing Gum”—which gave us the astonishing Michaela Coel
for the first time—“Educating Yorkshire”, “24 hours in A&E”,
“24 hours in Police Custody”, “Location, Location, Location” with
Phil and Kirstie, “Friday Night Dinner”—
Mr Speaker
Order. I am not sure what we need now is the telephone book.
I will simply finish with “Hollyoaks” and “The Secret Life of the
Zoo”, Mr Speaker, which as you know have something in common with
me—[Laughter.] They were both filmed in Chester. For four
decades, Channel 4 has reflected and given voice to the diverse
parts of the United Kingdom. Why do the Minister and the
Government want to take that voice away and, as other hon.
Members have said, sell it off to foreign tech companies that
have no loyalty to the United Kingdom?
Mr Whittingdale
I am extremely impressed by the hon. Gentleman’s viewing habits,
although I notice he left out “Naked Attraction”, which certainly
does appeal to diverse tastes. However, I absolutely agree that
Channel 4 has been responsible for some great programmes over the
years, and it is our intention that it should be able to continue
to do that in the coming years. It is precisely because it is
going to need access to investment capital in order to maintain
that record that we think now is the right time to consider
alternative models, but we have not reached any conclusion yet.
Important Historical Documents
(Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
What steps he is taking to ensure that documents of historical
importance are retained in the UK.
The Minister for Digital and Culture ()
The UK’s export control system provides a safety net to protect
our national treasures from being sold abroad, whereby Ministers
can delay the issuing of an export licence to allow an
opportunity for a UK buyer to acquire it. Between 2008 and 2018,
62 items were saved for the nation in this way. A recent example
was the notebooks of Sir Charles Lyell, the renowned Scottish
geologist who influenced Charles Darwin, which were acquired by
the University of Edinburgh in 2019.
Mr Sheerman [V]
May I declare an interest as chair of the John Clare Trust, a
charitable trust, and of course one of my daughters is a poet?
May I draw the Minister’s attention to the fact that we have
discovered in recent weeks a beautiful treasure trove of letters
from the Brontës, Jane Austen and Robert Burns? It is unique. If
we cannot act now and raise £15 million to keep it in this
country, it will be broken up and sold at auction in New York.
Will the Minister and the Government help us? Could the National
Trust, which has huge reserves, help us to keep it in Britain?
Most of the literary houses have had a year of no income and are
struggling to help and raise this money. We desperately need this
collection kept in our country. Will she help and help soon?
The Government are delighted that a public consortium led by the
Friends of the National Libraries has come together to seek to
acquire the Honresfield library. We hope that the fundraising
campaign is successful and is able to realise its plans to
allocate parts of the collection to libraries around the UK, for
the benefit of the public. We will, of course, keep a very close
eye on this and I know that the Secretary of State is planning to
meet the group shortly.
Electronic Communications Code
(South Derbyshire) (Con)
If he will make it his policy to conduct an impact assessment of
the potential financial effect on community organisations of
proposals to reform the electronic communications code.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport ()
The Government are currently considering the responses to the
consultation on the electronic communications code, which closed
in March, and we will, of course, carefully consider the impact
of our proposals on all stakeholders, including community
organisations, which we all value so highly.
Mrs Wheeler
I thank the Minister for his answer. He will be aware that
thousands of farmers, churches and community groups who host
mobile telecoms infrastructure on their land have faced financial
hardship because of the 2017 ECC reform, with some seeing
enforced rent reductions of up to 90%, as has happened in my
constituency. What measures is he planning to support those who
face losing these critical sources of income? Will he kindly
agree to meet me and representatives of these impacted groups as
soon as possible?
I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this. It
is important to be clear that those 2017 reforms were intended to
cut the amount paid by operators and put them on a similar
footing to other utilities, and that supports the roll-out of
connectivity that we all want to see. However, it is important
that the negotiations that take place are fair commercial ones
and that landowners ultimately receive a fair price. The reason
we are consulting as we speak is to make sure that the system
works effectively and that those fair prices are delivered.
Digital Connectivity: Rural Areas
(Broadland) (Con)
What steps his Department is taking to improve digital
infrastructure and connectivity in rural areas.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport ()
The Government are focused intently on improving digital
infrastructure and connectivity in rural areas, both through the
£5 billion Project Gigabit programme and the £1 billion shared
rural network. That will deliver huge increases in connectivity
across the whole country, while Project Gigabit provides fibre to
at least 85% of the country.
I very much welcome Tuesday’s announcement on the shared rural
network and the news that 98% of my constituency will receive
some form of coverage. However, those who visit Great Snoring and
many other villages in my constituency will find that they have
to go outside to get a signal, if they get one at all. Will the
Minister confirm to me that in order to claim this coverage
people have to have a signal sufficiently strong to penetrate a
normal building, so they can have a conversation inside and not
only in the garden?
The target of the 4G shared rural network is based on outside
coverage, but of course the effect of that outside coverage is a
huge halo that brings signals indoors: into, as my hon. Friend
puts it, normal homes and beyond. I think we will see a really
significant improvement in indoor coverage, alongside an
improvement on 45,000 km of roads and in 1.2 million businesses
and homes across the country.
Tourism Recovery Plan
(Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (Alba)
What further steps the Government plans to take to support travel
agencies as part of the implementation of the tourism recovery
plan.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport ()
The Government have provided more than £25 billion in support to
the tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors over the course of
the pandemic. We are continuing to support travel agents with,
for example, restart grants and the extended furlough scheme. Our
tourism recovery plan sets out a range of measures to support the
sector, with the aim of recovering domestic tourism to
pre-pandemic levels by 2022 and international travel by 2023,
both at least a year faster than independent forecasters predict.
[V]
The headline numbers—that £25 billion—tell only part of the
story. Unfortunately, because of the asymmetry of the Government
support and the asymmetry of the travel recovery plan, much of
that money has not found its way into the hands of travel agents
such as Moorelands Travel and Travel Your World in my Kirkaldy
and Cowdenbeath constituency. These family-run small and
medium-sized enterprises have, like many others across the
country, kept the lights on for the travel industry. They have
given their all and sold the silver, and there is nothing left to
give. They now face the possibility of going under. That will
disrupt holidays and the travel recovery itself, so will the
Minister explain to them—not to me—why their efforts and their
businesses no longer matter?
The hon. Gentleman’s final comment is an unfortunate
characterisation. He will be aware that many elements of the
tourism sector are devolved matters, but we are working
co-operatively with the Scottish Government on many issues. The
Scottish Government have developed their recovery plan and we
have developed one as well, and it does have UK-wide
implications. For those sectors in England that have been unable
to get grants and support automatically, we have put in place
measures to help them, such as the additional restrictions grant.
We will continue to assess support measures.
Paralympic Games
(East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)
What plans his Department has to (a) promote and (b) encourage
people to watch the Paralympic Games in summer 2021.
The Minister for Media and Data (
)
The Paralympic games are one of the highlights of the sporting
calendar. In recognition of their special national significance,
we added the Paralympic games to the listed events regime in
2020, meaning that they will remain available on free-to-air
television. I wish all our athletes every success in Tokyo and
very much welcome Channel 4’s plans to broadcast live coverage of
the Paralympics throughout the games.
Dr Cameron [V]
New research by Scope has shown that 69% of people with
disabilities believe that the Paralympics help to tackle negative
attitudes. This comes as three in four people with disabilities
believe that the public’s perceptions of disabled people have
worsened or not shifted during the pandemic. Scope and
ParalympicsGB have teamed up to call for the Paralympic games to
be a catalyst for change. The all-party group on disability,
which I chair, asks the Secretary of State and the Government to
commit to work across broadcasting to champion inclusion in
sports and employment for people with disabilities, alongside
celebrating the fantastic achievements of our Paralympians.
Mr Whittingdale
The Government absolutely share the ambition of the hon. Lady and
her all-party group to increase the participation by disabled
people in sport. The Paralympics have been an extraordinary
success in demonstrating the remarkable achievements of disabled
athletes. I share her hope that the Paralympics will again
receive record viewing figures and that the UK Paralympic
athletes will continue to do as well as they have in recent
times.
Cultural and Sporting Sectors: Covid-19
(Bolton
West) (Con)
What steps his Department is taking to open up the cultural and
sporting sectors as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
()
We have provided unprecedented support for arts and sports and
have only just opened up applications for the latest round of the
£2 billion culture recovery fund. That will focus specifically on
helping sectors to reopen fully. Our aim is, of course, to get
everything—sports, live music and cultural events—back at full
capacity from 19 July, and we are making good progress towards
that goal.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said that, if
the direction of travel in respect of covid data is maintained,
we will be able to have our terminus day on 19 July. Does my
right hon. Friend agree with me that terminus day means an end to
social distancing, an end to compulsory mask wearing and a full
return to normal, not just for the end of July but permanently?
As my hon. Friend rightly says, and my right hon. Friend the
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has said, we are
making very good progress towards 19 July. We are hopeful and,
indeed, confident that we will be able to remove, as planned at
stage 4, all the remaining legal limits on social contact, reopen
the remaining closed settings and remove all limits on weddings
and other life events. That is very much what I am working
towards.
National Lottery Licence: Procurement
(Swansea East) (Lab)
What progress he has made on the procurement process for the
fourth national lottery licence.
The Minister for Media and Data (
)
The Gambling Commission is running the competition for the next
national lottery licence, which will come into force in August
2023. The Gambling Commission has undertaken several rounds of
market engagement with prospective applicants, and I was pleased
to note that the commission received the expected number of
applications. We expect to announce the preferred applicant at
the end of the year.
The Gambling Commission has turned down an invitation to appear
before the gambling-related harm all-party group to discuss the
upcoming national lottery licence procurement and the performance
of the current provider. Many products developed by the current
provider, such as online instant win games, have potential to
cause serious harms, so will the Minister reassure the House that
there will be proper scrutiny of the next provider and that
appropriate harm prevention measures will be introduced?
Mr Whittingdale
The incidence of problem gambling is lowest among players of the
National Lottery, but nevertheless the need for protection of
players remains of paramount importance. It was for that reason
that the Government recently increased the minimum age for
purchase of national lottery tickets from 16 to 18, and I can
assure the hon. Lady that we will continue to monitor, as will
the Gambling Commission, whether any further measures are
necessary.
Topical Questions
(Bridgend) (Con)
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
()
I have announced ambitious proposals for broadcasting reform,
including the equalisation of regulation of video on demand
services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, prominence for public
service broadcasters, and the potential change in ownership of
Channel 4 in order to secure its long-term success.
We continue to work closely with all our sectors as we plan for
the full reopening on 19 July, and our next wave of pilots is
helping us to do so safely and permanently. One of those pilots
will, of course, now go down in history after England’s glorious
win at Wembley on Tuesday, and I know that the whole House will
join me in wishing the team the very best of luck in the quarter
finals in Rome on Saturday.
Dr Wallis
I want to draw my right hon. Friend’s attention to the issue of
displaying the Union flag in the Welsh Parliament. As many will
know, the Presiding Officer of the Senedd banned the display of
the Union flag by Conservative Members last week. Yesterday, the
First Minister, , described it as “vacuous symbolism” by
“tea towel Tories of 2021”.
Does my right hon. Friend agree that people across Wales are
proud to display the Union Jack because of their pride in the
country in which they live and of what the UK stands for? What
actions will—
Mr Speaker
Order. I think we’ve got it. Sorry, but topical questions are to
be short.
I share my hon. Friend’s pride in the Union flag, because it
unites us as a nation and a people. As he well knows, the Union
flag is the national flag of the United Kingdom, and it is so
called because it embodies the emblems of three countries united
under one sovereign: the kingdoms of England, Wales, Scotland
and, of course, Northern Ireland. It is quite extraordinary that
the First Minister should describe it as vacuous symbolism by tea
towel Tories. It really does show how out of touch he is with the
people of Wales, and the Labour party is with the wider United
Kingdom.
(Cardiff Central) (Lab)
I remind the Secretary of State of the election results in Wales
in May.
I too wish England all the best for the quarter finals. It was a
fantastic game, and I look forward to a repeat of the performance
in the quarter finals.
On 23 March, the Minister for Digital and Culture, when asked
about Government-backed insurance for the live events industry,
said that
“the decision is with the Treasury right now.”—[Official Report,
23 March 2021; Vol. 691, c. 309WH.]
We are three and a half months on, and there is silence from the
Government. Can the Secretary of State say today whether the
Government are going to underwrite time-limited insurance for
live events? The industry just needs to know the answer—a
straight yes or no, please.
I very much understand the industry’s desire for insurance, and I
have engaged with it. I have said all along that, as with film
and TV insurance, the first step is to get all the other
restrictions removed. We are making very good progress towards
doing that on the 19th. At that point, if there is a market
failure, namely that the commercial insurance providers cannot
insure for that, we will look at whether we can extend insurance
with some sort of Government-backed scheme. We are engaging
extensively with the Treasury and other Government Departments to
see what that might look like.
Festivals continue to be cancelled, even those scheduled for
after 19 July, such as Womad, because the Government still have
not published any guidance about sector reopening. They were
forced into publishing the results of the events research
programme last week after our urgent question, but they are also
briefing to the press that nightclubs, for example, are going to
reopen with no testing or proof of vaccine requirements.
Businesses have had 15 long months of this chaos. The Secretary
of State will not confirm insurance now and he will not publish
guidance, so will he explain how festivals and live events
scheduled for after 19 July can go ahead?
As I have said previously, we are making very good progress
towards 19 July. Given that the evidence is suggesting that
despite rising infections, we are breaking the linkage to
hospitalisations and deaths, I really do hope and expect that we
will be able to have that full reopening from 19 July. We have
always said that we would clarify and confirm that at least a
week in advance, which would be by 12 July. Festivals have
benefited from millions of pounds of wider support through the
culture recovery fund, and, of course, at least one of our events
research programme pilots is in relation to a festival.
(Brigg and
Goole) (Con) [V]
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, may I ask the
Secretary of State how the shared rural network and other
measures are finally going to get us the improvements in mobile
phone coverage across north Lincolnshire and the East Riding of
Yorkshire that we so desperately still need?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport ()
The shared rural network will eliminate the partial notspots
across huge swathes of the country, particularly in Yorkshire and
the Humber; it will take the region from 95% to 99% coverage from
at least one operator, and from 81% to 90% coverage from all four
operators. I know how hard my hon. Friend has been working on
this issue, and I look forward to working with him to continue
that progress.
(Sunderland Central) (Lab) [V]
May I take this opportunity to wish the Sunderland Empire in my
constituency a happy 114th birthday? The Government boast free
trade deals with 17 countries, each having different rules,
making the situation almost as hard as it is with countries with
which we do not have trade deals. When are the Government going
to sort this out and get a deal to allow our artists, musicians,
truckers and support staff to tour across Europe properly, and
save this industry before it is too late?
The Minister for Digital and Culture ()
We are 100% aware of the importance of the UK’s creative and
cultural industries, and the importance of musicians and
performers being able to tour easily abroad. We have moved with
great urgency to provide the clarity that they need about the
current position. Through our engagement with member states, we
have established that at least 17 of the 27, including France,
Germany and Italy—some of the biggest economic contributors—do
allow visa and permit-free touring. We continue to talk to the
others.
(Bury
South) (Con)
I think we can all agree that football is absolutely, 100%,
definitely coming home. With charity beginning at home, when the
two come together they are absolutely unstoppable. This weekend,
I am joining the Maccabi 24-hour football challenge in Prestwich
in my constituency. Will the Minister join me in wishing everyone
the best of luck and crossing his fingers for the best weather
for us?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport ()
I am afraid that I cannot promise the weather—I wish I could! I
am delighted to join my hon. Friend in wishing all those
participating in the Maccabi 24-hour football challenge the very
best of luck. I have no doubt that the time will fly by if they
keep top of mind the inspirational example of Harry Kane and
Raheem Sterling from Tuesday’s success against Germany. This is a
fantastic opportunity for volunteers to raise money for their
club to refurbish a local pitch, and I understand that the FA
will be matching some of the money raised. I wish him the very
best of luck.
(Manchester, Withington) (Lab) [V]
Nightclubs cannot open today, and they do not know in what
capacity and under what rules they will be working when they do.
They have no income and are still racking up debts, and today
they have to start paying towards furlough payments. Does the
Secretary of State think that is fair on them?
Nightclubs actually fall within the responsibility of the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, but I am
very happy to answer the question. The key thing is to get them
to reopen. We are making very good progress towards doing that on
19 July. Many of the existing schemes—certainly the culture
recovery fund—will continue to pay out for the coming weeks and
months. Indeed, we have said that claims can be made in respect
of the culture recovery fund until the end of this year, so a
wide range of support remains available for our cultural
institutions.
(Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con) [V]
Many of my constituents have benefited hugely from investment by
Hillingdon Council in youth facilities. The youth investment fund
has the potential to bring these benefits to a much wider group
of young people. Will my hon. Friend provide an update on the
plans the Department has for the use of this money?
The youth investment fund aims to level up access to youth
provision over the course of this Parliament, but £30 million has
already been committed as capital funding in 2021-22. That will
provide investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young
people so that they can access support from youth workers and
enjoy beneficial activities, including sport and culture. We know
how valuable these facilities are, and details of the bidding
process for the next rounds will be announced in due course.
