Thursday Volume 678 9 July 2020 No. 84 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 9 July 2020 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2020 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1095 9 JULY 2020 1096 energy in getting ready to reopen. Tourism is vital to House of Commons our economy. I, too, was delighted to see the sector take its first steps towards reopening last weekend and to Thursday 9 July 2020 hear the announcement yesterday of a cut in VAT. Earlier this week I participated in a roundtable organised by Cumbria Tourism, which I know he has been working The House met at half-past Nine o’clock closely with. I will continue to monitor the situation and engage closely with business. PRAYERS Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: My hon. Friend will know from his visit to the Cotswolds last Saturday how important [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] tourism is. In particular, the arts are very important. Virtual participation in proceedings commenced (Order, The Barn theatre in Cirencester is a relatively new and 4 June). highly innovative theatre that has done an awful lot [NB: [V] denotes a Member participating virtually.] during the covid period to keep people informed through social media about the Government guidelines. Will he ensure that that theatre and other small theatres like it get their fair share of the £1.5 billion for theatres and Oral Answers to Questions the arts? Nigel Huddleston: I would like to thank the Barn theatre for all that it has done to help the local community DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT during the coronavirus crisis. Indeed, I thank tourism, leisure and arts businesses across the country, and it was The Secretary of State was asked— a pleasure to visit some of them in my hon. Friend’s constituency last weekend. I can confirm that the purpose Tourism Sector: Reopening of the £1.57 billion cultural support fund is to support organisations across the cultural sector right across the Dr Neil Hudson (Penrith and The Border) (Con): country, including those that do not have a history of What steps his Department is taking to help the tourism receiving public funding. More information on the eligibility sector reopen safely as covid-19 lockdown restrictions criteria and application process will come by the end of are eased. [904439] this month, and I encourage the Barn theatre to apply. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con): Alex Sobel (Leeds North West) (Lab/Co-op) After What steps his Department is taking to help the tourism staffing, the largest cost that many tourism and hospitality sector reopen safely as covid-19 lockdown restrictions businesses face is their rent. One of the sector’s main are eased. [904456] asks for yesterday’s statement was help with rent. There is a moratorium on evictions until September. However, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, manypubs,restaurants,amusement arcades,small museums Culture, Media and Sport (Nigel Huddleston): The tourism and other tourist destinations face their quarterly rent sector has been severely impacted by this crisis, and we bills when they have had no income. What additional are working closely with the sector to get it back on its steps are the Government taking to help them and feet, including developing covid-secure reopening guidance ensure that we do not see mass closures? for tourism businesses. VisitBritain has introduced an industry-standard quality mark called “We’re Good to Nigel Huddleston: I thank the hon. Gentleman for Go”, which businesses can use if they meet covid-secure those comments and know he shares my concerns about guidelines, and it has had over 20,000 applications the sector, which is why we have taken so many measures. already. The new £10 million kick-start tourism package The issue with rent has been raised at the working gives small businesses in tourist destinations grants of group. He is right that there has been a moratorium. We up to £5,000 to help them adapt their businesses. continue to look at further measures. The range of measures already announced are being taken advantage Dr Hudson [V]: Last weekend I joined several businesses of by the sector, whether it is loans, grants, business in my constituency as they reopened and saw the great rates relief or furlough. The VAT reduction yesterday work they had done to reopen safely. Will my hon. was welcomed across the sector, but we will continue to Friend join me in thanking the tourism and hospitality engage with it and see what further assistance may be businesses in Penrith and The Border and across the required. country for their efforts in preparing to safely reopen? Further to the welcome announcements from the Voluntary and Community Sector: Covid-19 Chancellor yesterday, does he agree that these sectors, which may be slower to recover, should be kept under Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab): What steps he has review, with additional Government support provided taken to support the voluntary and community sector if necessary to help them through to the next full through the covid-19 outbreak. [904440] season? Dean Russell (Watford) (Con): What steps his Nigel Huddleston: I fully agree with my hon. Friend. Department is taking to help ensure the sustainability Tourism and hospitality businesses right across the of civil society organisations and charities affected by country have invested an incredible amount of time and the covid-19 outbreak. [904453] 1097 Oral Answers 9 JULY 2020 Oral Answers 1098 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Matt Warman: The fact is that the BBC has had a Culture, Media and Sport (Matt Warman): The Government generous licence fee settlement, and it is deeply disappointing announced an unprecedented £750 million funding package that it has chosen to go down the path that it is supporting frontline charities to continue their vital apparently going down. I hope, of course, that there is work during the covid-19 outbreak, and we have unlocked yet time to reconsider that, because the hon. Gentleman a further £150 million from dormant bank accounts is right to say that television has been a vital comfort for and building society accounts. In addition, there is the many people in the past few months, and it is a vital coronavirus job retention scheme and a host of other part of our national economy as well. measures announced by the Chancellor yesterday. Broadband Delivery Ian Lavery [V]: The work of the voluntary sector in Northumberland and across the country has been absolutely Kenny MacAskill (East Lothian) (SNP): What steps priceless during the covid-19 pandemic. The work has he is taking to ensure the effective delivery of broadband been literally life-saving for many of the most vulnerable services. [904442] people in our communities. However, Northumberland Community Voluntary Action reports that half of the Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP): organisations that it represents have less than six months’ What steps he is taking to ensure the effective delivery reserves and a third expect to lose 50% of that income of broadband services. [904454] because of fundraising restrictions. Will the Minister give his cast-iron assurance, first, that for these essential The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, organisations, Government funding will be targeted at Culture, Media and Sport (Matt Warman): The Government local areas rather than being funnelled into the larger are investing £5 billion to deliver nationwide gigabit-capable national organisations and, secondly, that Government broadband as soon as possible to ensure that the hardest assistance and support in the post-pandemic era will parts of the country to reach are not left behind. We are focus heavily on the operational challenges that will be also removing barriers to roll-out, for example by required to function in the nation’s new norm? introducing legislation to make it easier for operators to connect to blocks of flats, and £1.8 billion has already Matt Warman: I, too, pay tribute to the extraordinary been spent in making sure that 96% of the country can work of charities in Wansbeck and beyond. The hon. now access superfast broadband. Gentleman is right to say that we need to focus on the vital work done by so many small charities. That is Kenny MacAskill [V]: Those words from the Minister precisely why the £750 million of funding is being are all very well, but the A1 and the east coast main line administered in the way that it is, and we are working as run through my constituency, as does the National Grid hard as we possibly can to get it to those charities as with Torness and Cockenzie, yet the essential medium, quickly as possible. as shown during this coronavirus crisis, is connectivity and broadband. Much of that remains poor and entirely Dean Russell: Does my hon. Friend agree that, when inadequate. Given that the Government’s target is only the Secretary of State kindly spoke to Tom Cruise and 91% for geographic mobile coverage in Scotland, yet the producers of “Mission: Impossible” on my behalf 98% in England, when can my constituents expect the recently, he showed a real need for speed in putting broadband and mobile coverage required for this together a cocktail of measures for the entertainment coronavirus crisis, let alone for the 21st century? industry? It is our critics who cannot handle the truth that his actions were helping more than a few good men Matt Warman: As I have said, we have an ambition to and women return to work across civil society and the deliver gigabit-capable broadband as fast as possible, entertainment industry in Leavesden in Watford.