ISM MUSIC JOURNAL SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 | NEWS & CAMPAIGNS
News & campaigns DCMS Select Committee releases its report, ‘Impact of COVID-19 on DCMS sectors’ On 23 July, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee in the House of Commons released its report on the impact of COVID-19 on the DCMS sectors. MPs on the Committee said the COVID-19 crisis presents the biggest threat to the UK’s cultural infrastructure, institutions and workforce in a generation.
ISM lobbies for extension of the SelfEmployment Income Support Scheme On 06 July the government announced a £1.57 billion rescue package to protect arts, culture and heritage industries. On 29 July further detail on the grant application process for a Cultural Recovery Fund was announced by Arts Council England. We welcome additional financial support for cultural organisations, many of which are on the verge of collapse or have already closed. However, we remain concerned that there is still no plan to provide longterm financial support for freelancers, who make up most of the music sector workforce and whose livelihoods have ground to a complete halt due to COVID-19. Read our full response to these announcements and why we are continually calling on government to extend the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) at least until the end of the year. ism.org/news/ism-responds-arts-councilcultural-recovery-fund-grants and ism.org/news/ ism-welcomes-government-arts-investment You can add your support by using our template letter to write to your MP asking them to support an extension of the SEISS. Access our template letters here ism.org/blog/ write-to-your-mp-about-extending-the-seiss More information on what you can do to take action and effectively engage your local MP can be found here ism.org/blog/learn-to-lobby
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The government was ‘too slow’ to respond to the needs of the DCMS sectors during the COVID19 outbreak with many organisations facing an ‘existential threat’ to their survival, say MPs. In the wide-ranging report, the DCMS Committee found that ministers consistently failed to recognise the scale of the challenge that COVID-19 presents to culture, sport and tourism. We welcome that the committee adopted many of ISM’s policy recommendations to government, including targeted support for freelancers through the extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, long-term cuts to VAT on ticket sales, and a clear and conditional timeline for reopening.
