Select committee: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Conclusion 11
Second Report - Promoting Britain abroad
Published 24 Oct 2022
Paragraph 55
Addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Promoting Britain abroad All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
In an increasingly competitive tourism market, the UK must keep pace with other countries’ visa schemes and match, or surpass, those of our competitors. Moreover, the Government’s strategy of agreeing bilateral arrangements with EU Member States for performers touring the EU is failing to address the industry’s needs. The Government needs to recognise the bureaucratic burden caused by performers having to navigate multiple bilateral schemes for a single visit to the EU.
From: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Second Report - Promoting Britain abroad (HC 156), paragraph 55, 24 October 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 2 February 2023 (deadline 11 January 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government accepts the importance of tourism and the Committee's concerns in places, but does not accept several of the main recommendations, including a creative industries export office, a group ID card for under 18s, a recovery visa and a larger VisitBritain marketing budget.
- On a creative industries export office, the government "does not see a case" for one, citing existing export support. It will set out its ambition for the creative sector to 2030 in the Creative Industries Sector Vision, to be published "in early 2023".
- On VisitBritain's Business Events Growth Programme, the government "does not presently intend to expand" it, but "will continue to evaluate the case for expanding this as part of future DCMS budgetary planning". It does not intend to increase VisitBritain's marketing budget "at present".
- On entry rules, there are "no plans to change" the approach to under 18s in organised groups, though the government "will review mitigations through the Inter-Ministerial Group". It does not intend to publish a visa review outcome within 12 months, and does not intend to introduce a "recovery visa".
- On the de Bois recommendations, a Destination Development Partnership pilot in the North East will receive "£2.25 million across three years". If it is "successful", this will inform future spending review bids, with the "aim" to then roll out the model across England.