The doubling of tax relief for theatres until 2023 is among a raft of measures included in the Government’s Budget 2021 announcement aimed at supporting the UK’s creative industries.
In a statement released following Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s unveiling of the full details of the Budget in the House of Commons, Julian Bird, chief executive, Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre welcomed “the support that Rishi Sunak and HM Treasury have shown the theatre sector”, describing the increase in Theatre Tax Relief as providing producers and investors with “greater confidence in developing our world-leading theatre and drive the cultural recovery from the pandemic”.
Bird went on to state that the temporary business rates relief for theatre buildings (up to a £110,000 cap per business) would provide venue operators with “the cushion of a lower cost base as they reopen and develop an audience post-pandemic” while the 100% improvement relief for business rates announced for 2023 would “encourage innovation and enhancement of our theatre buildings”.
Vowing to continue to work with the Government to promote the “values of this £4.5b sector”, Bird concluded by welcoming the news that “core funding” for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is set to increase, stating the uplift would “reassure the venues and performing arts companies up and down the country that rely on their support in delivering culture to their local communities”.
Echoing Bird’s comments, the CEO of the Creative Industries Federation, CEO Caroline Norbury, said that the doubling of “tax relief for museums, galleries, theatres and orchestras, £850m in post pandemic support for culture and heritage institutions, and £14m a year in scale up funding for creative SMEs (small or medium sized businesses) – is hugely welcome, supporting the cultural sector when most needed”.
Norbury voiced her “disappointment” at the limited expansion of R&D (research and development) tax relief and its failure to include many within the creative sector but concluded by stating: “As further details of the Chancellor’s announcement emerge, including greater clarity around Higher Education funding for creative subjects, we look forward to working with both government and industry to deliver the ambitious, targeted investment needed to unlock the full potential of the UK’s creative businesses and individuals.”
Angela Thomas
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