Select committee: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 5
1st Report - Cultural touring in the EU
Published 15 Jun 2026
Addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee State of Play: Performing arts touring in the EU All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
In the absence of a UK–EU deal for touring artists, we recommend the government use bilateral relations with member states to seek cultural agreements. The government should work with industry to identify the most important destinations for cultural touring and prioritise discussions accordingly. We expect the government to set out its initial priorities for bilateral discussions in its response to this report. (Recommendation, Paragraph 35)
From: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, 1st Report - Cultural touring in the EU (HC 141), 15 June 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 4 September 2026 (deadline 24 August 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government welcomes the report and shares the Committee's desire to see "tangible progress" on touring barriers, but says many issues depend on agreement with the EU and Member States and it makes few new commitments.
- On UK-EU talks, it says progress "cannot be delivered unilaterally" and it will "continue to engage constructively". It says it would not be appropriate to provide "a running commentary" on ongoing discussions.
- On Creative Europe, the Government "has no plans to join". Any future participation in AgoraEU "would be considered on a case-by-case basis", as its final design is not yet settled.
- On unilateral measures, it has "no current plans to subsidise carnets" and sees the Orchestra Tax Relief change as appropriate. It has "no plans to designate St Pancras as a CITES Port of Entry and Exit" but "will keep this position under review should circumstances change".
- On an advice hub, it says its ability "to go further than the current offer is limited". It points to a commitment, announced in the Music Plan, to "improve and update the GOV.UK guidance".