This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Petition Government to offer economic assistance to the events industry during COVID-19
For the UK government to provide economic assistance to businesses and staff employed in the events industry, who are suffering unforeseen financial challenges that could have a profound effect on hundreds of thousands of people employed in the sector.
More details
The UK events industry is facing an unprecedented challenge as a result of the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, and the events that have been cancelled as a result.
The industry is worth more than £14 billion to the economy, with 25,000 businesses supporting over 500,000 employees—all of whom are nervous about whether their next event will go ahead or not, and how their income may be affected.
I'd like the government to provide support to business & individuals struggling at this critical time.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
Parliament debated this topic
This topic was debated on 25 June 2020
Government responded
This response was given on 27 March 2020
The Government has announced a series of measures to provide economic support to businesses and their staff to help to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19. Further detail can be found on gov.uk.
Read the response in full
The UK government is aware that COVID-19 presents unprecedented challenges to many UK businesses. In the 11 March Budget, the Chancellor set out a £12bn package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support public services, individuals and businesses through the economic disruption caused by COVID-19.
On 17 March the Chancellor went further and announced an unprecedented £330bn support package for businesses and workers to protect against the economic emergency caused by the coronavirus. This included the introduction of a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5m for SMEs through the British Business Bank, and a new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms. The total of the available guarantees are equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. The package also included giving all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England a 100% business rates holiday for the next 12 months; and, increasing grants to small businesses eligible for Small Business Rate Relief from £3,000 to £10,000.
The 17 March announcement on business rate relief was supplemented by expanded guidance from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to Local Authorities administering these business rates relief: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/873622/Expanded_Retail_Discount_Guidance.pdf The guidance indicates that a number of event venues are eligible including, live music venues, hotels, sports grounds and clubs and public halls.
The guidance is also clear that not every eligible venue can be listed. The list set of eligible venues is not intended to be exhaustive as it would be impossible to list the many and varied uses that exist within the qualifying purposes. There will also be mixed uses. However, it is intended to be a guide for authorities as to the types of uses that the Government considers for this purpose to be eligible for relief. Authorities should determine for themselves whether particular properties not listed are broadly similar in nature to those above and, if so, to consider them eligible for the relief. Conversely, properties that are not broadly similar in nature to those listed above should not be eligible for the relief.
On 20th March, the Chancellor announced further economic support for businesses, employees and individuals: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses . The announcement included a new Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, VAT deferral for all businesses until the end of June, Income Tax deferral for the self-employed, changes to the Business Interruption Loan Scheme to make it more generous and further information on the previously announced grant scheme. Furthermore, the Universal Credit standard allowance and the Working Tax Credit were each raised to £1,000 per year; the minimum income floor for those who are self-employed and are affected by COVID-19 was suspended; and, income tax payments for the self-employed will be deferred until January. This is not an exhaustive list of the support measures announced by the government to date. Businesses, employees and self-employed individuals who are impacted by COVID-19 are encouraged to visit the UK government’s website for information and updates.
Further detail can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Related activity
Tell us what you want to know about the Government's response to coronavirus
As the result of the large numbers of petitions and signatures we've received on coronavirus, we will be putting your concerns and questions directly to the Government at an evidence session (a question and answer session with representatives from the Government) in the coming days.
Tell us what question(s) you'd like us to the ask the Government and experts in this short survey: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/petitionscommittee/
We'll email you again to let you know more about the session, including when it's going to happen, who'll be taking part and how you can watch it live.
We will also email you a link to the video and a transcript of the session afterwards.
Who are we?
We are the House of Commons Petitions Committee. We are a cross-party group of MPs that looks at e-petitions submitted on petition.parliament.uk. We are independent from Government. You can find out more about us and our work on our website: http://www.parliament.uk/petitions-committee/role
You can follow the Petitions Committee on Twitter: @HoCpetitions
Petitions Committee questions Government on its response to coronavirus
We emailed people who had signed this petition by 16 March to ask for your questions about the Government’s response to coronavirus.
Thank you to everyone who sent us your questions: we received over 60,000.
We put the most requested questions to the Government Minister for Schools, the Minister for Disabled People and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer. These included:
- How long will schools be closed for and what will the impact be on exams and grades?
- What financial support will be available for the self-employed?
- What financial support will be offered to people who are unable to pay their rent or bills due to self-isolation or loss of work?
- What support will be offered to the events, creative and hospitality industries now that pubs, clubs and cultural venues have been closed?
- What clear, practical steps can people take to make sure they are following Government guidance on social distancing, household isolation and self-isolation?
- Who is being tested and why, and will tests be made freely available to everyone?
- What is the Government doing to ensure that everyone is getting the right information?
Watch the session on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aPLXJcZEfi8
Read the transcript: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/publications/written-evidence/
Because of the large number of petitions that we continue to receive on coronavirus we have sent more questions to the Government to answer.
Read our letters to different Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
Some of the questions we’ve asked include:
- When will testing capacity will be increased; who will testing be available for and will it be free?
- What is being done to tackle the spread of disinformation?
- How quickly will support for self-employed people be made available?
- What will happen to the school year? Will summer holidays be cancelled so that children can catch up?
- How are foodbanks being supported to continue operating during the outbreak?
- What is being done to address panic buying and prevent price hikes of key items?
- Will trains, buses and flights continue to operate? For how long?
We’ll email you again to let you know when we get a response to these questions, and to let you know about any more action the Committee takes.
Who are we?
We are the House of Commons Petitions Committee. We are a cross-party group of MPs that looks at e-petitions submitted on petition.parliament.uk. We are independent from Government. You can find out more about us and our work on our website.
You can follow the Petitions Committee on Twitter: @HoCpetitions.
Further information
You can read impartial House of Commons Library information about coronavirus here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
MPs investigate the economic impact of coronavirus
A group of MPs called the Treasury Committee is investigating the economic impact of coronavirus, including looking at support for businesses, employees and self-employed people.
The Committee launched the first stage of its inquiry on 18 March to look at the speed, effectiveness and reach of the Government’s and Bank of England’s immediate financial response to coronavirus.
During this stage, the Committee pushed the Government on the lack of support for the self-employed, on lenders requesting personal guarantees on business interruption loans, and on the issue of large firms struggling to get support, including in order to retain their employees.
On 24 April the Committee launched the next stage of its inquiry, in which it will examine the effectiveness, cost and sustainability of the Government’s and Bank of England’s support packages. The Committee will also examine the impact on the economy and different sectors, the implications for public finances, and how the Government can work towards a sustained recovery.
You can find out about the inquiry, including how to submit your views and details of meetings the Committee is holding, here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/224/economic-impact-of-coronavirus/
The Treasury Committee is a cross-party group of MPs and is independent of the Government. The Committee looks at and questions the Government about matters relating to the spending of public money and economic policy.
You can find out more about the Treasury Committee on their website: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/158/treasury-committee
You can follow the Treasury Committee on Twitter: @CommonsTreasury
The Treasury Committee is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c
Has coronavirus affected your business in Wales?
A group of MPs called the Welsh Affairs Committee is looking into the impact of coronavirus on the Welsh economy, and would like to hear your views.
If your business in Wales has been affected by coronavirus, complete this survey to tell the Welsh Affairs Committee how the coronavirus outbreak has affected you: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=nt3mHDeziEC-Xo277ASzSsdf6aRbb_hHi61kcnJ3-KJUNEpKUVQ3ODkxU0tTQUdVV05ZMFhYRFozRy4u
The survey should only take 10 minutes to complete, and closes at 5pm on 15 May.
The Welsh Affairs Committee is a cross-party group of MPs and is independent of the Government. The Committee looks at and questions the Government about matters that have an impact on Wales.
You can find out more about the Welsh Affairs Committee on their website: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/162/welsh-affairs-committee/
You can follow the Welsh Affairs Committee on Twitter: @CommonsWelshAff
The Welsh Affairs Committee is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c
Further Information
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters from the Committee asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/publications/
Visit our website to find news and information on other activity in relation to coronavirus and other issues: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
MPs to debate petitions calling for support for UK industries in response to Covid-19
The Petitions Committee, which is the group of MPs who oversee the petitions system, has agreed to schedule a debate in the House of Commons Chamber on Thursday 25 June on petitions calling for support for UK industries in response to Covid-19.
The debate is being held in response to the huge number of petitions, including the one you signed, that call for the Government to provide support for UK industries in response to Covid-19.
The start time of the debate will depend on other parliamentary business, but you can follow the Petitions Committee on Twitter @HoCpetitions, where we will post updates on when we expect the debate to start.
You will be able to watch the debate live here: https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/a7b6db44-6101-42c7-b2a0-32abd08b80ef
A transcript will be published the following day here: https://hansard.parliament.uk
Government announces £1.57 billion funding for cultural, arts and heritage institutions
Last month MPs in the House of Commons discussed support for UK industries, including the arts and heritage sectors, in a debate arranged by the Petitions Committee. This debate was held in response to a number of popular petitions on this issue, including this one.
The Government has now announced £1.57bn in additional support to help cultural and heritage organisations, through a mixture of emergency grants and loans.
Find out more about the additional support announced by the Government: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/157-billion-investment-to-protect-britains-world-class-cultural-arts-and-heritage-institutions
During the debate on 25 June, many MPs highlighted the impact of the pandemic on the arts and heritage sectors, and called on the Government to provide support.
Watch the debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV0Et_Pfhdk&feature=youtu.be
Read the transcript: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-06-25/debates/E1479A23-8697-4B2E-9E5F-2A208EC3E217/Covid-19SupportForUKIndustries
What is the Petitions Committee?
The Petitions Committee is a cross-party group of MPs that considers e-petitions submitted on Parliament’s petitions website and public (paper) petitions presented to the House of Commons.
It's a cross-party committee and is independent of the Government.
You can get updates on their work by following the Committee on Twitter @HoCpetitions
or on their website: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/
This is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c
Find out more about how petitions work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGEOraE08Jk&feature=youtu.be