Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has called for the government to appoint a minister focused on the night time economy.
“I would support the government in having a named minister with responsibility for the night time economy, to champion the sector inside government, and ensure that the voices of small and medium businesses are heard loud and clear,” Rayner said during a speech at the Night Time Economy Summit in Liverpool.
The MP’s call follows the government’s recent announcement that pubs and some music venues will receive extra business rates relief to cope with increases as a result of reforms announced in last November’s Budget.
However, nightclubs, grassroots electronic music venues and recorded music spaces are excluded from the support, a move which Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), described as “a surreal decision”.
Also speaking at the Liverpool event was Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burham. He said:
“We need a planning and tax regime that recognises that value added to the UK economy. And I’m including the music industry in this and live venues.
“I know pubs have got their business rates exemption but it should be broader than that, I think it should be all hospitality venues because you want that mixed economy as well. It’s not one version of the night time economy.”
Figures show the number of nightclubs in the UK have decreased by 32% since 2017, but they’ve seen a 56% increase in their rateable value.
“Electronic music spaces are not optional extras in the cultural landscape,” Kill said. “They are talent incubators that develop the next generation of artists, DJs, promoters and creative entrepreneurs. They are where careers are built, scenes are formed and global exports are born. To exclude them is to undermine the future of the UK’s music industry at its foundations.
“We have already lost over a third of the UK’s nightclubs, yet the venues that remain are being charged higher business rates than ever, with fewer businesses left to carry the burden and no access to relief. This is not targeted support, it is policy that actively accelerates decline.”