(Hornsey and Wood Green)
(Lab): The hon. Member is making a very good start to this
important debate. Does he agree that one of the worst-affected
sectors is the creative sector? Many musicians
across the UK have been in touch with us as their representatives
to say how they have been negatively affected by the lack of
agreement between countries. I hope that he and others will refer
to that in their speeches...
(Bath) (LD):...Visa and
work-permit rules often vary between EU member states. musicians are
now forced to spend much of their time and money figuring out how
to meet different standards for different EU countries. It is a
devastating setback for artists who want to perform, not to
battle bureaucracy.
Cabotage rules restrict UK hauliers over 3.5 tonnes from going to
more than three different EU countries. The Association of
British Orchestras says that those rules are increasing tour
costs by up to £16,000 per day for orchestras using their own
vehicles. That seriously restricts the viability of touring.
Another consequence of Brexit is more complicated customs rules.
The ATA carnet required for moving unaccompanied instruments from
the UK to the EU costs up to £310 plus VAT, plus a deposit of 30%
to 40% of the value of the items. The carnets are also
time-consuming to prepare and cause customs delays and concert
cancellations.
Such barriers limit our cultural reach and stunt our £5.8 billion
music industry. An Encore musicians survey
shows that 76% of musicians
agree that it is likely that Brexit travel restrictions will stop
them performing in Europe. We must establish exactly what
difficulties our arts sector is facing...
(Putney) (Lab):...We need
to know the impact because of the enormous political cost to our
country of the Brexit debate. Big promises were made to voters
before the referendum. Are those promises being delivered? We
need to disentangle the impact of Brexit from that of covid, the
energy crisis, the cost of living crisis and Ukraine, so that any
problems that we face as a country cannot be written off as
consequences of them. We need to find out the cost of Brexit and
who is being impacted by region, age and sector. So many
different places within our country are impacted—environmental
standards, food standards, financial services, agriculture,
fishing, the construction industry and the creative industries,
including musicians
There is the impact on the workforce, especially in the NHS and
health services; on education, educational opportunities,
scientific research and school trips; on security and the loss of
businesses—all those things are never brought together by the
Government, so we cannot see the cumulative impact in all those
areas...
(Chesham and Amersham)
(LD):...I want to focus on areas where there can be little doubt
that Brexit has had a negative impact: on businesses, artists
and musicians
and the care sector. Business owners are facing additional costs
directly because of Brexit. Many have made their feelings on this
clear to me, with one expressing his frustration at the amount of
time and money he now spends specifically on completing
additional paperwork that did not exist prior to our exit from
the European Union—and he was not the only one to describe the
heavy bureaucratic load imposed on him by Brexit.
The quarterly Buckinghamshire Business Barometer shows that a
significant number of businesses in my area are facing these
increased costs. One of its reports states that 42% of businesses
in Bucks face higher costs as a result of increased red tape,
nearly a third are paying extra tariffs or taxes and a quarter
are paying the price for changes to their supply chain. For small
businesses who cannot afford to outsource or employ someone to
deal with the additional red tape, the strain can be immense.
More than one small business owner locally told me that they were
on the brink.
Chesham and Amersham is also home to a significant number of
artists and musicians
who previously drew a chunk of their income from touring in
Europe. As other Members have alluded to, in sharp contrast to
the freedom these artists previously had to tour, they now have
to apply for visas and work permits, and the instruments and
equipment they need also often require additional paperwork and
permissions. One constituent who works for a prominent opera
company told me that the extra burden they now face makes it much
harder to put on a show—potentially prohibitively so...
(Cardiff South and Penarth)
(Lab/Co-op):...Although we do not support the return of freedom
of movement, we will seek to find flexible labour mobility
arrangements for those making short-term work trips and, as has
been mentioned by a number of colleagues, musicians
and artists seeking short-term visas to tour within the EU...
