Response from AIF CEO Paul Reed to the Chancellor's Winter Economy Plan, announced todayOFFICIAL PRESS RELEASENEWS PROVIDED BY AIF "While the extension to the VAT cut is welcome, these measures are not even a band aid for a sector that remains severely wounded. "Festivals support 85,000 jobs in the UK and our most recent member surveys suggest redundancies of at least 50.5% across the sector, some of which have unfortunately already taken place. "With the sector still not generating any income at all this year, many employers will simply not be in a position to pay 55% of their employees' salaries to access the support offered by the Government’s new job support scheme. "This remains a broad brush approach, and we urgently need targeted support. "We are awaiting the outcome of Cultural Recovery Fund applications on 5 October and this will determine if the independent festival sector will in fact receive the support that it urgently requires."
Source AIF
September 24, 2020 10:30am ET by Pressparty |