MARCH | NOEA COLUMN
What has the
Government ever
done for us?
NOEA’s CEO
Susan Tanner
asks what
Government can
do for the events
industry...
I
t’s probably a sign of the
times, and the sheer amount
of turbulence that we’ve
seen over the last few years,
but there seems to be continual
demands from ‘the Government’
to do things not just for people,
but industries and businesses;
the question is ‘what has
Government ever done for us?’
While as an industry we have
as much reason to bemoan the
lack of support and attention
we have got from Government
as anyone, however it’s always
helpful to offer a different
perspective. This slightly lighter
approach may just be because,
at NOEA, we have actually met
people in ‘the Government’ and
represented the industry in front
of the last five administrations,
and over the last decade.
We’ve met the people and the
departments and took time to
understand their limitations as
well as where they can add value,
we’ve tried to understand how
they work and how best to work
with them.
The reality it, although we’re
not spoilt, we do have attention
on us within ‘the Government’.
NOEA represents the events
industry in this respect, feeding
into the Events Industry Forum
(EIF), the Business Visits &
Events Partnership (BVEP)
and the Events Industry Board
(EIB), who in turn have regular
dialogue with Government
departments including the
Department for International
Trade, and the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport.
We’ve also been involved directly
with No.10 and their ‘Britain is
GREAT’ campaign, where we
supported the offshoot ‘Events
are GREAT’.
So, what has all this meant
for us? Over the last few years,
one of the areas we’ve not been
successful is anything that
reduces the burdens of tax
and administration on what
we do, either saving us time or
money. This has been the age of
austerity, and our contacts in
government have always been
honest about that. Where they
have supported us is in ways in
“We’ve tried to understand how they work
and how best to work with them.“
60
which the events industry can
support UK plc, and vice versa,
with the end goal of protecting
quality businesses. This has
included using events, especially
outdoor, cultural and sporting
events, as a contributor to
tourism, exports and inward
investment.
One of the big things
we’ve learnt in working with
Government is that this is
a two-way street. If we can
show how we look after UK
plc, we get more support and
attention, and we’ve been a big
part of demonstrating these
benefits across governmental
departments. Regardless of the
level of support we have been
given (or not as is often the
case), the UK events industry is
a success story. We’re not like
manufacturing or agriculture,
we don’t face crisis every
day. We’re the good school
child sitting quietly at the
back, waiting for a little more
attention and a lot more credit.
In terms of more tangible
examples, sadly there are less of
these; there has been legislation
to protect ticket sellers; at the
same time defending consumer
rights as well as the event
organisers business. We’ve also
lobbied for more support and
understanding of the Purple
Guide, which shows us looking
after our own industry and
resisting unwanted involvement
from government.
However, the most impact
has been around the ‘soft’ power
that we have harnessed. We’ve
raised awareness of the industry
as part of the creative industries
of the UK and supported
the creation of an All Party
Parliamentary Group for Events
(APPG) that has been active in
looking at ways it can support
the industry. There has been
increased engagement from
MPs across the UK, and more
empathy towards what we do
at a local and national level and,
more importantly, what this
means for local communities.
Not every local authority is the
same, and not all are on board,
but the pressure is there, the
evidence of benefit is there, and
we continue to promote the
value of events to communities.
So, what has the Government
ever done for us? Well quite a
lot, but we’re doing more for UK
plc than vice versa. But we are
making progress, and there is
no lack of will on either part.
The biggest interruptions are
that of governmental change,
and the most progress we
make is always with a stable
administration, let’s hope that as
of 2020, we have that … for a little
while at least!