Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Culture Recovery Fund

Thursday 4 February 2021 · 7 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 3 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Over 1 billion from the culture recovery fund has been allocated across the UK, supporting over 3,000 arts and heritage organisations in England and more than 75,000 jobs.
  • The culture recovery fund grants are intended to help organisations cover essential costs, not for ideological projects.
  • Organisations that received grant funding from the first round of the CRF are eligible to apply to the second round, including Aerospace Bristol museum.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jack Lopresti Con
Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The culture recovery fund has been established to provide financial support for the cultural sector during the pandemic.

Question

What progress his Department has made on delivering support for the culture and heritage sector through the culture recovery fund. Over £1 billion-worth of funding from the culture recovery fund has already been allocated across all four nations of the UK, supporting over 3,000 arts and heritage organisations in England alone.

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

Over £1 billion-worth of funding from the culture recovery fund has already been allocated across all four nations of the UK. The funding is supporting over 3,000 arts and heritage organisations in England alone and more than 75,000 jobs.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Giles Watling Con
Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The question arises from the cultural sector's need for smoother visa processes and carnet-free travel for performances across Europe.

Question

I thank my hon. Friend for his answer. It is great that the Government are taking the theatre sector seriously, as demonstrated by this fund, but there is so much more that we can do to help our cultural offer that is not just cash injection. I implore him to push the Government to re-engage with the European Union on visa and carnet-free travel for performers, their kit and their support teams. Touring performers will be left with a double whammy of an industry devastated by covid and the loss of an entire continent as a venue.

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

First, I thank my hon. Friend for banging the table so well for the culture sector over so many years. The door always remains open should our European friends wish to reconsider our mutually beneficial proposals, which would have allowed UK touring professionals to tour more easily. In the meantime, where visas apply, our agreement with the EU contains measures designed to make the necessary processes as smooth as possible. A working group has been set up by the Secretary of State to look at any obstacles that might face British performers seeking to tour.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not explicitly commit to pushing for re-engagement with the EU on visa and carnet-free travel.

How: Door Remains Open, Working Group Looking At Obstacles

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q3 Marco Longhi
Culture, Media & Sport
Context

Concerns have been raised about public funding being used for ideologically motivated projects that rewrite history.

Question

The £1.5 billion culture recovery fund has provided a lifeline to the culture and heritage sector during the pandemic. Does the Minister agree, though, that public money should not be spent on ideologically motivated projects by people who hate our history and seek to rewrite it, and will he review funding allocations accordingly?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

The culture recovery fund grants are intended to help organisations with essential costs associated with operating, reopening, mothballing and recovery. The funding goes to organisations in need of serious financial support, not for ideological projects. Any grant award above £1 million is reviewed by the independent Culture Recovery Board.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q4 Pauline Latham Con
Culture, Media & Sport
Context

Many self-employed performers may fall through the cracks of Government support schemes.

Question

Because of the nature of the industry, many performers organise their business in such a way that they sometimes fall through the cracks of Government support. What support is the Minister making available to performers who are not in an eligible organisation for the purposes of the culture recovery fund?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

The Government have supported self-employed persons through a number of pan-economic schemes, including the self-employment income support scheme. Over two thirds of self-employed people are eligible for this scheme, and tens of thousands within the culture sector have claimed during its first, second and third phases.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not specify how many performers were supported or what additional representations have been made to the Treasury.

How: Support Through Various Schemes, Eligible For Self-Employment Income Support

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q5 Jack Lopresti Con
Culture, Media & Sport
Context

Aerospace Bristol received support from the first round of the culture recovery fund.

Question

Aerospace Bristol in my constituency is very grateful to the Government for the support it received from its successful bid during the first round of the culture recovery fund. Can my hon. Friend assure me that the current bid by Aerospace Bristol under round 2 of the fund will be given a sympathetic hearing?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

Organisations in receipt of grant funding from the first round of the CRF were eligible to apply to the second round. I can confirm that Aerospace Bristol museum will get a fair hearing as requested.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q6 Alison McGovern Lab Birkenhead
Culture, Media & Sport Business & Trade
Context

Many self-employed individuals in the creative sector have not been able to access support schemes.

Question

Further to the question asked by the hon. Member for Mid Derbyshire, I think I heard the Minister say that a third of self-employed people in the creative sector were not able to access the self-employment scheme, minus those supported by extra schemes made available by Arts Council England, which is about £47 million of support. Can he calculate how many people have been forgotten by the support schemes so far? Will he say what representations he has made to the Treasury to aid that remaining number of people?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

Over two thirds of people who are self-employed have been eligible for self-employment income support. More than 60,000 people applied for and received SEIS funding in phase 3 within the arts, entertainment and recreation sector.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not calculate how many individuals were forgotten or specify representations made to the Treasury.

How: Support Through Self-Employment Income Support Scheme

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q7 Julian Knight Con
Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The Lowry in Manchester has relaunched its emergency public appeal, highlighting the need for additional targeted help for cultural sectors affected by multiple lockdowns.

Question

I am concerned that the culture recovery fund was not intended to cover three lockdowns and 18 months of disruption. The news that the Lowry in Manchester has relaunched its emergency public appeal is a warning beacon in our cultural landscape. Does the Minister recognise that more targeted help will be needed for world-leading arts and cultural sectors? What plans are in train to deliver that help? Is a culture recovery fund 2 necessary?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

I understand my hon. Friend's concern, and I take the opportunity to recognise what a champion he is for our country's cultural and creative industries. Some £400 million of CRF funding was held back from the first round of funding as a contingency to support cultural organisations later on in the pandemic. That now forms the basis of the second round of grant funding, which is currently being processed. I can assure him that we will continue to work with organisations to support flexibility in their plans, should the wider context change following awards being made. We have already extended the time period over which some of the original funds can be spent, and we are always in conversations with the Chancellor and the Treasury.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not directly commit to a second culture recovery fund or specify concrete plans beyond general statements about flexibility and ongoing discussions.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)