AudioUK has submitted a paper to the House of Commons Select Committee on Digital, Culture, Media & Sport in response to its inquiry on the impact of COVID-19 on the creative, arts, sports and tourism sectors.

The cross-party back-bench Committee has already been questioning Ministers from DCMS on the response to the crisis of the department and the Government as a whole.

AudioUK’s response summarises the results of our COVID-19 survey of the sector and details the recommendations it would like the Committee to make to Government, including:

• To ensure that professional audio production is included in permissible activity during any future reintroduction of lockdown restrictions

• To ensure the DCMS is planning for how to help companies taking on loans to have a ‘soft landing’ in terms of repayments beyond the initial 12-month period for the current Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS)

• To fill gaps in income protection for some limited company directors and freelancers

• To recommend that the Government considers introducing a tax credit for professional audio production, in consultation with AudioUK

• To recommend that the Government includes relevant audio productions in any measures it takes to ensure that content production is not halted or affected by any failure of insurance to cover COVID-19-related issues

• Given the additional burden the COVID-19 crisis has already placed on the BBC, to recommend to Government that it does not decide to decriminalise TV Licence Fee evasion

You can read the full paper here.

More details on the Committee Inquiry are here.