Asked by
The
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to
improve the provision of A1 forms, in particular for
self-employed workers in the music industry touring in the
European Economic Area.
The Parliamentary Secretary, HM Treasury () (Con)
My Lords, HMRC is rolling out significant improvements to the
application process by allocating extra resources to help answer
phone calls and deal with correspondence across all national
insurance services. That includes the training and deployment of
more people to process A1 applications. HMRC has also introduced
new digital A1 certificate application forms and will roll out
automation technology to help process customers’ applications
faster.
The (CB)
My Lords, as the Minister will be aware, concern is such that
both LIVE and the Independent Society of musicians have
written to the Treasury about this issue. I appreciate that there
is a recovery strategy but, as the April deadline approaches,
there has been no noticeable improvement. Many musicians and
crew are receiving their forms after a tour has ended, meaning
that money is withheld, potentially permanently. Ultimately, the
Treasury will be the loser. Will the Minister agree to meet Peers
and interested parties to talk about this? I hope she agrees that
that might be helpful.
(Con)
I am grateful to the noble Earl for raising this issue. I
reassure him that my inquiries in the Treasury have caused one or
two minor waves in ensuring that this gets the priority that it
needs. There has been an improvement, although I accept that it
is not good enough—as HMRC also acknowledges—and that more needs
to be done. I will take away his request for a meeting. Although
I am of course happy to meet him, the subject is not directly
within my portfolio, so it might be better if the relevant
Minister met him.
(LD)
My Lords, the news that the Treasury will speed up the process
for these forms is welcome for touring musicians
but there are other limitations stifling a thriving live music
sector that the Government could take action on. For example, can
the Minister confirm whether the Government will commit to the
permanent retention of the 50% orchestra tax relief rate?
(Con)
The orchestra tax higher rate has been extended to the end of the
2024-25 tax year and then a taper will be put in place. It is
worth noting that the orchestra tax relief has been worth £62
million since 2016. Obviously, the Treasury keeps taxes under
review. I note the noble Lord’s comments.
of Knighton (CB)
My Lords, as the singer Rachel Nicholls has documented, the
problems over visas for musicians and
singers are now compounded by the fact that foreign opera houses
and festivals are beginning to boycott British artists. Has the
Treasury made any assessment of how these post-Brexit
arrangements are affecting the economy, and if not, please can it
do so?
(Con)
I know that obviously the DCMS and colleagues across government
are working very closely with the EU and indeed with individual
member states to support musicians
and 23 out of 27 member states have clarified their arrangements
or introduced easements to allow visa or work-permit-free routes
for short-term touring. France, Germany and the Netherlands have
all stepped up early on in the process, and Spain recently
changed its requirements after intervention from His Majesty’s
Government. Obviously, we will continue to address challenges
where we see them.
(CB)
My Lords, 20% of orchestras’ earned income comes from touring,
mostly to countries in the European Economic Area. The
Government’s plan to remove orchestra tax relief completely from
performances in the EEA will have a hugely damaging effect on the
viability of such touring, making it hard and, for some
orchestras, even impossible to continue to tour in Europe. Will
the Minister and her colleagues look again at this proposal and,
if it cannot be scrapped, what support might the Government offer
to orchestras to help offset the income they will lose and to
enable them to continue to tour in Europe?
(Con)
It is not entirely right that costs incurred in the EEA should be
offset against UK tax; that would seem slightly odd. However, I
reassure the noble Lord that of course some of the costs will be
tax deductible: for example, if a group were to hire a conductor
from the US and use that conductor for performances in the UK.
Obviously, we have to make choices in this area. We are content
with where we are headed in terms of removing EEA activity from
the orchestra tax.
(Lab)
My Lords, the A1 form is required for each travelling worker, for
each trip and for each EEA country they intend to visit. Industry
bodies tell us that this represents a significant burden for
their members, particularly for those who are self-employed or
work for small organisations. Given that HMRC processes are
increasingly digitised, do the Government believe that there is
scope for simplifying the application process, such as moving
from paper to digital certificates, or allowing people to use
previously completed applications as a template for their next
submission?
(Con)
As I explained in my opening remarks, the forms are now
digital.
(Lab)
The certificates.
(Con)
The certificates are a slightly different issue because of course
that will depend on the overseas countries accepting a digital
form, which I suspect may be slightly more challenging. Where
that is possible we will look at it, but we are now focused on
ensuring that the processes are sped up. It is important that we
get the automation in but it cannot be done end to end, as in
some cases one needs caseworkers’ judgment to issue the A1
certificate.
(Con)
My Lords, the noble Earl, , raised the issue of the
April deadline and making sure that the applications are
available—the A1 form as well as the certification. What advice
can my noble friend the Minister give to those who do not receive
their forms in time, or maybe receive their form electronically
but do not have the necessary certification? What leeway will be
given to those individuals?
(Con)
The A1 certificates are issued all the time. As the noble Lord,
, pointed out, in many cases
a worker needs a certificate for every time they go to a certain
country, because of course the circumstances may change. However,
in other cases, forms can be valid for up to two years. Therefore
there is not an April deadline per se. The April 2024 date is
when HMRC expects to be processing back to its normal target
arrangements.
(CB)
My Lords, I declare an interest as my son is a rock musician.
Does the Minister agree that the provision of music, particularly
rock music, is something in which Britain has a comparative
advantage? Does she also agree that, for all its benefits in
other areas, Brexit has unambiguously increased the barriers to
trade in this area?
(Con)
I absolutely agree with the noble Lord that the UK has one of the
finest music industries in the world, which of course includes
rock music but also classical music and opera. It is the
second-largest recorded music market in the world and contributes
£6.7 billion to the UK economy. Brexit has meant that there have
been changes to certain arrangements. However, the A1 form
process has remained relatively stable for many years.
(Lab)
My Lords, as Brexit has been mentioned, I point out that many
Members of the House still here will, like me, well remember the
early days of the Beatles. They will remember that the Beatles
managed perfectly well in Hamburg for many months, if not years,
without any great difficulty. That was before the EU was even
thought of. Can the Minister consider ways in which we can learn
from this by contacting Paul and Ringo to see how they managed
that?
(Con)
The Beatles split up the year I was born so I do not have as long
a memory as the noble Lord. However, the Government are very
focused on developing our emerging artists and ensuring that they
can get to new international markets, whether that be in the EU
or beyond. The music export growth scheme has been tripled and
will now spend £3.2 million over the next two years to support
these emerging artists. When it comes to music, we are talking
about not just the EU but the entire world.
(Con)
My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister agree that this is
not a problem of Brexit but a problem of EU members not being
co-operative?
Noble Lords
No!
(Con)
My Lords, I had not expected this to get into a Brexit ding-dong
per se. The UK was more ambitious than the EU when it came to
negotiating the trade and co-operation agreement but some of our
proposals were rejected. I note that the TCA is reviewed every
five years and, while I would not want to comment on the scope of
that review, there may be opportunities in the future.
