Government to offer economic assistance to the events industry during COVID-19
This petition gathered 154,815 signatures between 12 March 2020 and 12 September 2020, according to the Parliament petitions site. The Government responded on 27 March 2020. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 25 June 2020.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Government to offer economic assistance to the events industry during COVID-19
For the UK government to provide economic assistance to businesses and staff employed in the events industry, who are suffering unforeseen financial challenges that could have a profound effect on hundreds of thousands of people employed in the sector.
The UK events industry is facing an unprecedented challenge as a result of the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, and the events that have been cancelled as a result.
The industry is worth more than £14 billion to the economy, with 25,000 businesses supporting over 500,000 employees—all of whom are nervous about whether their next event will go ahead or not, and how their income may be affected.
I'd like the government to provide support to business & individuals struggling at this critical time.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 27 March 2020. Its summary:
The Government has announced a series of measures to provide economic support to businesses and their staff to help to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19. Further detail can be found on gov.uk.
The opening 346 words of the 506-word response:
The UK government is aware that COVID-19 presents unprecedented challenges to many UK businesses. In the 11 March Budget, the Chancellor set out a £12bn package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support public services, individuals and businesses through the economic disruption caused by COVID-19.
On 17 March the Chancellor went further and announced an unprecedented £330bn support package for businesses and workers to protect against the economic emergency caused by the coronavirus. This included the introduction of a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5m for SMEs through the British Business Bank, and a new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms. The total of the available guarantees are equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. The package also included giving all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England a 100% business rates holiday for the next 12 months; and, increasing grants to small businesses eligible for Small Business Rate Relief from £3,000 to £10,000.
The 17 March announcement on business rate relief was supplemented by expanded guidance from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to Local Authorities administering these business rates relief: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/873622/Expanded_Retail_Discount_Guidance.pdf The guidance indicates that a number of event venues are eligible including, live music venues, hotels, sports grounds and clubs and public halls.
The guidance is also clear that not every eligible venue can be listed. The list set of eligible venues is not intended to be exhaustive as it would be impossible to list the many and varied uses that exist within the qualifying purposes. There will also be mixed uses. However, it is intended to be a guide for authorities as to the types of uses that the Government considers for this purpose to be eligible for relief. Authorities should determine for themselves whether particular properties not listed are broadly similar in nature to those above and, if so, to consider them eligible for the relief. Conversely, properties that are not broadly similar in nature to those listed above should not be eligible for the relief.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 1,370, came from Bristol West.
153,903 of the signatures were from the UK and 912 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Bristol West | 1,370 |
| Hackney South and Shoreditch | 1,031 |
| Hackney North and Stoke Newington | 1,018 |
| Hornsey and Wood Green | 888 |
| Lewisham, Deptford | 882 |
| Bethnal Green and Bow | 867 |
| Brighton, Pavilion | 862 |
| Tottenham | 821 |
| Streatham | 818 |
| Vauxhall | 737 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| London | 33,075 |
| South East | 23,334 |
| North West | 14,515 |
| South West | 14,165 |
| East of England | 13,421 |
| West Midlands | 12,044 |
| Scotland | 10,102 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 9,669 |
| East Midlands | 8,653 |
| Wales | 5,218 |
| North East | 3,234 |
| Northern Ireland | 2,633 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 25 June 2020. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/301186.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
1025df24b1c300de… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.