Question reference: S5W-29145
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 19 May 2020
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Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 June 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much net income it estimates will be lost in the (a) arts and culture and (b) tourism sector in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and when it expects it to return to the 2019 level.
Answer
Scottish Ministers recognise the exceptional circumstances being experienced by the arts, culture and tourism sectors as a result of COVID-19, and the challenges these have created. We have significant and ongoing engagement with key stakeholders from these sectors including through the Scottish Tourism Emergency Response Group and Creative Scotland’s Covid-19 response group which has been key in identifying and addressing many of the challenges for businesses, employees and the self-employed.
We have put in place a substantial package worth over £2.3 billion for businesses in Scotland, which includes the Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund, and the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund. Creative Scotland is providing an expected total budget of £14 million of support in response to the COVID-19 situation including the Bridging Bursary Fund for freelance creative professionals; the repurposed Open Project fund to help practitioners adapt and respond to the current changing circumstances; and one-off bursaries to film and TV sector workers.
Official data on the financial impact of COVID-19 on the arts, culture and tourism sectors are not yet available for Scotland.
In response to COVID-19, the Scottish Government has published an experimental Monthly Business Turnover Index. These provide an early indicator of business activity using the survey data held by the Scottish Government. The index for March 2020 was published on 13 May, and indicates a considerable proportion of companies in the Accommodation and Food Services and Culture, Recreation & Other Services sectors Scotland have reported lower turnover in real terms than 12 months ago. This publication is available at:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/monthly-business-turnover-index-march-2020/
The ONS has published initial UK-level data on the impact of COVID-19 by industry through its Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey (BICS). Data for Wave 4 of BICS (covering the period 20 April to 3 May) was published on 21 May, and includes data on the Accommodation & Food Service sector and the Arts, Education & Recreation sectors. This includes data on responding firms’ trading status, and impacts on their recent turnover.
Data from ONS’s BICS is available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/output/datasets/
businessimpactofcovid19surveybicsresults