Third Report - Impact of COVID-19 on DCMS sectors: First Report

The government refers to Sport England's existing "Join the Movement" campaign for physical activity and notes that Sport England’s new strategy will focus on tackling inequalities and supporting those most affected, implying existing and planned work rather than new commitments for advertisements or a specific DCMS fund.

The government states that indoor leisure centres reopened by late July and announced a specific income guarantee scheme to reimburse local councils 75 pence in the pound for lost income, including from leisure centres they own and operate, with ongoing conversations for outsourced services.

The government highlights the ongoing OpenActive programme, run by Sport England since 2016, which already focuses on data collection to make physical activity opportunities accessible, indicating existing efforts address the recommendation without committing to new resources.

The government fully recognises the importance of the issue and has the Intellectual Property Office supporting an independent research project to investigate how music creators earn money from streaming, with a report due in Summer 2021.

The government announced a £1.57 billion support package for cultural and arts institutions, committed to supporting freelancers, allowed indoor performances with social distancing, and is actively exploring technological solutions to enable the safe return of fuller audiences.

The government published the Culture Recovery Fund criteria and application process in early August and began allocating funds, with significant allocations announced by October 2nd, demonstrating it met the deadlines. It confirmed the fund covers various sub-sectors and aims to protect smaller organisations and venues.

The government details how Arts Council England has already allocated £50 million to non-National Portfolio organisations and is setting criteria to ensure funding reaches diverse cultural sectors, including specific guidance requiring applicants to demonstrate improvements in diversity of workforce, governance, audiences, and participants.

The government is actively working with performing arts and sports sectors, developing pilot events and using DCMS coordination to ensure learning is shared between sectors on technological solutions for mass gatherings.

The government stated that risk assessments for travel arrangements are conducted by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, and officials from DFT and Home Office discuss policies with the tourism industry through working groups and pre-announcement notification lists for key stakeholders. This indicates they are already communicating as requested.

The government agreed with the recommendation and launched a £10 million "Enjoy Summer Safely" domestic campaign in July, followed by VisitEngland's "Escape the Everyday" campaign in mid-September to boost autumn and winter tourism.

The government states that its working groups are already diverse and that government departments already undertake analysis of impacts to fulfil the Public Sector Equality Duty, and consider equality impact when making decisions.