P-05-1013 Provide financial support for self-employed individuals within the Welsh live music industry, Correspondence – Petitioner to Committee, 01.07.21

Dear Committee

As the former Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism acknowledges in his letter of 19 April, the purpose of my Petition was to raise a concern for a particular sector of the live music industry, namely tribute artists, wedding and pub singers.

Since the onset of the pandemic these performers have been deprived of the ability to earn a living due to the restrictions on live music. The Freelancer Fund has not provided adequate support for these people. It has simply not been fit for purpose, both on a macro level by being constantly inadequate to support the total amount of applications and specifically for the sector this Petition applies to by virtue of the underwriting criteria that requires applicants to demonstrate they provide cultural benefit.

In addition, the Welsh Government’s Covid health policy, when compared to England, has discriminated against the pub music sector and continues to do so. Yet, as the former Deputy Minister concedes, the Welsh Government does not have the fiscal power to provide the necessary support to this sector of the music industry. This continues to be the case.

There is probably nothing that can be done at this stage to compensate these individuals for failing them financially but I would urge the new administration to consider separate ‘bounceback’ support for this sector as a matter of urgency.

Yours Faithfully