Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Paragraph: 76
Since lockdown began, we and many others in the cultural sector have been warning DCMS...
Recommendation
Since lockdown began, we and many others in the cultural sector have been warning DCMS about the challenges of resuming live performance. The £1.57 billion of support from Government will only tide the cultural sector over for so long and will not be sufficient to compensate for a loss of the Christmas season. The Cultural Renewal Taskforce has been slow to demonstrate meaningful progress. The fact it was only established two months after lockdown means valuable planning time for the return of live performance has been lost. Moreover, telling venues they can reopen with just a few days’ or weeks’ notice does not address the lead times for performance, the challenges of social distancing or the concerns about audience behaviours. To provide more certainty and allow for forward planning the Government should, no later than 1 August, publish ‘no earlier than’ dates for stage 5 of its plan to reopen performing arts venues.
Paragraph Reference:
76
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Theatres are now able to open for socially distanced performances. We understand the challenges social distancing creates for organisations, which is why we have provided £1.57 billion of support to the cultural sector. This funding will be focused on those organisations which can demonstrate they are the most culturally significant. For those organisations, the funding will ensure that organisations that are facing financial challenges as a result of not being able to reopen fully, or in some cases, not being able to reopen at all, can access sufficient funding to ensure they remain viable for the rest of this Financial Year. We also recognise the importance of giving the sector clarity on when Stage 5 activity can resume. However, we have always said that further reopening would be dependent on the public health context at the time. We are increasing the pace of our work to see how we can use technology and look to get larger audiences into theatres as soon as possible. We have convened a venues steering group which includes representatives from leading sector 12 Impact of Covid-19 on DCMS sectors: Government Response organisations as well as Public Health England and other experts, to develop an action plan for how we can proceed to the final stage of the roadmap to enable fuller audiences within venues as soon as possible. We are continuing to work with industry on proposals to maximise activity under Stage 4 and on increasing capacity within venues, while ensuring they remain Covid secure and continue to implement all the safety mitigations recommended within guidance.