(Lab):...I want to focus
on the creative industries for a minute. They are a hugely
important and influential sector, worth £100 billion in 2019 but
already hard-hit by the pandemic. The committee expressed deep
concern about the potential impact of mobility provisions in the
TCA on the more than 2 million people employed in the creative
industries, which would make touring prohibitively bureaucratic
and expensive. Recent reports show that, apart from a few minor
concessions by individual countries, the cost and uncertainty
around cabotage, carnets, visas and work permit charges are
causing major difficulties.
The European Commission stated in 2019 that, in the music
business,
“UK acts … dominate the European panorama”.
There is a restriction of 90 days in 180 days over all member
states on visa-free touring. In practice, some countries, such as
Austria, Poland and Sweden, have applied additional restrictions
on those 90 days or a requirement to be employed by a registered
venue, such as in France. The opera singer Jennifer Johnston has
said that the standard rehearsal period for performances is 84
days, which means that she can do only one opera every half a
year in the EU. Although the Government have granted a cabotage
easement, suspending the inbound rules on cabotage for EU-flagged
trucks, this creates an imbalance as it is not reciprocated. The
fear is that specialist hauliers will move from the UK, which
currently has the vast majority of these trucks, to EU countries,
with a consequent loss of UK jobs.
The music industry is looking for a transitional support package
and a permanent music export office—ultimately, a cultural
touring agreement covering the geographic area of Europe. The
costs of carnets and permits, as well as restrictions on
merchandise, are already affecting the industry; despite the
Prime Minister’s promise that he would work flat out to find
solutions, there may have been a lot of effort but there is very
little to show for it. If the Minister is unable to update us on
this, perhaps he will write to the noble Earl, , with the exact position...
(Non-Afl):...The creative
industries have been mentioned. The poor musicians and
people who do plays, who need to go and reach audiences on the
continent, are flummoxed by the fact that simple travel
arrangements have become very difficult. An incredible number of
new regulations have arisen. The noble Lord, , said that regulations are
the new tariffs. They are the non-tariff barrier to exceed all
other non-tariff barriers...
The Minister of State, Cabinet Office () (Con):...The noble Baroness,
Lady Donaghy, raised the important question of
touring musicians
She was echoed by a number of noble Lords in their rightful
concern about creative industries. The UK has a creative heritage
of which we are rightly proud. It was perhaps inevitable that,
following the UK’s departure from the EU, there would be changes
in how creative professionals toured. I know that this,
exacerbated by the pandemic, has led to uncertainty in the
sector, since working and touring in Europe is such an important
part of their professional lives. In the negotiations for the
TCA, we sought to ensure that touring artists and their support
staff would not need work permits to perform in the EU. Our
proposals were rejected by the EU, although we have been able to
agree similar measures with other like-minded partners, for
example Norway and Iceland.
I am aware that there have been calls for the Government to
negotiate a visa waiver. It is not government policy to seek such
agreements and neither did the EU propose a visa waiver for paid
activities during the TCA negotiations. What was proposed by the
EU was a reciprocal visa waiver for short stays, for example as a
tourist. However, nothing in this proposal would have compelled
member states to change their visa regimes for paid engagements
such as performing at a concert.
Our focus now is on working directly with member states, which
are principally responsible for deciding the rules governing what
work UK visitors can undertake. Having engaged with EU member
states, we have established that UK musicians and
performers do not need visas or work permits for some short-term
tours in at least 21 EU countries. This includes Spain, a key
touring market for the UK, which changed its rules on visas last
month. This change is testament to the efforts of the sector as
well as the Government...
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