On March 31st 2020, SOLT (Society of London Theatres) and UK Theatre held the first in a new series of webinars they are hosting in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This first session focused on freelancers working in technical, backstage and/or production roles. Our Managing Director Bryan Raven joined SOLT CEO Julian Bird and Patrick Moloney (freelance Theatre Production Manager) to form the panel with over 700 freelancers joining the webinar. They each discussed and shared information on how the latest support for the freelance community will work.
For those who were unable to join the webinar, below is a list of the main discussion points:
Gift Aid
One of the questions SOLT had outstanding was regarding Gift Aid. SOLT are pleased to see this issue has been raised in Parliament and answered by the Treasury: Theatres: Coronavirus Lord Smith of Finsbury To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have, if any, to allow theatres and other cultural venues to automatically be able to claim Gift Aid when patrons agree to donate to the venue the value of their tickets for an event cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lord Agnew of Oulton (Con): Theatres and other cultural venues recognised as charities by HMRC can claim Gift Aid on freely given donations, as opposed to payments for goods or services; such as admission tickets. These charities can claim Gift Aid on the value of tickets for cancelled events if the patrons have agreed not to be refunded for the cost of the ticket and agree for the same amount to be treated as a donation. Additionally, the charity will also need to make sure the patrons have made a Gift Aid declaration for their donations to qualify for Gift Aid, confirming that they have, or will have, paid enough tax to cover the amount the charity will claim on their donations.
Guidance on mental health
The UK Government have issued new guidance on mental health and well-being which you may want to share with your workforce.
Northern Ireland – Support for artists
Northern Ireland Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey MLA is exploring options to introduce a new £1million COVID-19 Creative Support Fund which will be a mechanism to support individual artists and institutions.
£500m Welsh Fund
The Welsh Government has announced a £500m Economic Resilience Fund to further support businesses forced to temporarily cease trading. It is made up of two elements: 1) a new £100m Development Bank of Wales fund available for companies experiencing cash flow problems as a result of the pandemic and will provide loans of between £5,000 and £250,000; and 2) businesses will also be able to benefit from a £400m emergency pot. They say this is part of their ‘commitment as a Welsh Government to fill the gaps and support the economy and businesses through this incredibly difficult time.’
Theatre charities campaign
Please visit the newly launched website. Please do share and retweet any social posts about this initiative.
Upcoming Webinars
Once you have registered, you will be approved by SOLT manually and sent a further email with dial-in information.
Do you have theatre people can watch from home?
It was noted that, whilst theatre is a lot of our jobs, it’s also our passion and by having venues closed, this means we’re unable to engage with a world we all love. With that in mind, WL has put together a list of venues/online platforms that are currently streaming their shows online. The full list is available here.