(LD):...Other sectors
that have particularly suffered in recent years have been not
just those trading from the UK to an EU country but, as the
Minister explained, those wanting to operate cabotage services. A
badly affected sector is performers—musicians
and artists of various sorts—who have found it impossible to take
their goods, vehicles, scenery, costumes and so on from one
country to another. All this has contributed to a decline in the
numbers trading and a deterioration in the balance of trade,
which specifically has hit small businesses very hard...
Lord Tunnicliffe (Lab):...Moving outside the brief, in a sense,
and joining the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, it seems to me
that, compared with some of the fears we had way back before this
was firmed up, a pretty practical situation has been developed—as
I say, this is the UK end of it—and that the biggest damage is in
what one might call the musicians and
artists area. I would like an assurance from the Minister—this
parallels the noble Baroness's concern—on what, if anything, the
Government are doing about that. Is this still a live issue? Can
we have some assurance that it is being pursued because it seems
to me that, for most tasks, the regulations that exist now are
practical?
It seems that, in this area, however, it is a heavy burden. As I
understand it, for larger operations, the problem is overcome by
dual registration of specialist transporters and so on, but that
area, which is so important to the UK economy, starts off with
two or three blokes and their instruments in a Transit van.
Previously, they could wander around the continent and so on. I
know that that is what the Common Market is about and that we are
not in it anymore; nevertheless, it is a considerable blow to
emerging musicians
and artists, so I hope that the Government might make some
progress in that area...
For context, OPEN HERE
