Recommendation 18

We challenged the Department and ACE on what they had done to support parts of the sector including freelancers, commercial organisations, supply chain businesses delivering the technical aspects of the sector’s activity (for example, sound and lighting for events) and festivals.49 The Department described how ministers decided that the fund should focus specifically on institutions to preserve the long-term security of organisations that would provide employment in the future for freelancers within the cultural sector. ACE told us that over the last year, separate from the Culture Recovery Fund, it had invested £51.7 million in 13,464 individuals and freelancers. The Department claimed 39 Qq 20–22, 47, 49 40 Q 47 41 Qq 20, 21 42 Q 49 43 Qq 19, 56, 79 44 Qq 17, 47, UK Theatre and Society of London Theatre submission, page 2, para 4.1 to 4.4, UK Music submission pages 1–13 45 Q 61, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport submission page 1, para 3 46 Qq 57, 58 47 Qq 16, 19 48 Q 56 49 Qq 1,4, 18, 65, 73; A V Matrix submission, pages 1–4; UK Music submission pages 1–13 COVID 19: Culture Recovery Fund 13 that, for the second round of the fund, 100,000 freelancers would be supported until June 2021 through the awards organisations had been given, although it had not yet verified the estimate, provided by bidders.50