SEPTEMBER | OPINION
Susan Tanner, CEO of the
National Outdoor Events
Association, explains how the
organisation has cut through
the noise and is making
clear cut demands heard by
Government.
For all the criticisms that
can be thrown at the
outdoor events industry,
no one can ever accuse us of
being a quiet bunch. Equally,
the response of our industry to
the pandemic and how quickly
we have activated should be the
cause of great pride amongst us
all. Even if the results may not be
so much so.
The reality is, this industry
got very noisy, very quickly,
and I’ve been speaking to a lot
of our members about where
this noise is going, and what
it is achieving. Over the last
two weeks alone I’ve seen more
hashtags than in the previous
two months, I’ve seen new logos,
campaigns, causes and even new
associations sprouting up to go
and take the fight to the enemy.
But the reality is, amongst all
of this, we may have lost our way
a little. Who are we campaigning
for, against and to whom? Who is
the enemy at our gates and how
are we looking to defeat them?
In short, this is about business,
industry and government –
both local and national. At
NOEA we’ve been fortunate
enough to be at the top tables
in government when it comes
to discussing the implications
Where are we now?
of, and the response to, our
industry when it comes to the
global pandemic.
This is all fine of course,
but only helpful if these
conversations end in a positive
outcome. So, what are we asking,
and what are we expecting?
The conversations we have
been having have been quite
pointed, and our first messages
have been along the following
lines.
As of the beginning of the
shutdown, our fate was sealed.
There is no other industry that
this pandemic could have hit as
hard as our own. It landed right
at the start of our season and
continues to hit as we come near
to its end. We knew that our
industry was not going to come
back until spring 2021, and we
began to ask for help to sustain
these businesses until then.
Secondly, we wanted the
decisions to be put back into
our own hands and not into
those of local authorities or civil
servants, no matter how well
qualified. We are an industry
that understands safety and risk
more than most and is capable of
making the best decisions for its
audiences.
With these points in place,
we were able to underline the
severity of our situation and
begin to request the support
from government that could
begin to protect our members.
The requests are as follows:
» Continuation of Furlough in
full until April 2021
» Continuation of the Self
Employment Income Support
Scheme until April 2021
» If redundancies are required,
redundancy payment to be
paid by government due to
lack of ongoing revenue from
the events business
» Further ‘Bounce Back Loans’
of up to £50,000 per time and
to a maximum of £250,000
overall with government
guarantee and then payable
over a ten-year payback period
when turnover reaches a
certain level (like student
loans)
» Further local authority
grants of £25,000 with same
conditions as above
» A grant to companies, whose
premise’s rateable value is
over £51,000, of £50,000 plus
rates relief of one year
» A grant to Event Industry
businesses of at least 25%
of turnover for those that
haven’t qualified for previous
grants.
» PAYE & NI deducted but
retained as working collateral
» Suspension of Employers
National Insurance
contributions for 12 months
» Retention of VAT Output Tax
as working collateral for 12
months
» Public & Employee liability
insurance cover to remain
in place but no payable
premiums for period when
business is closed, and staff
furloughed
There have been many
successes of course, but there
have also been many moments
of frustration for us. NOEA
believes that the response from
government has been too slow
and that our industry, one of
the most profoundly affected
by the pandemic, has been left
on the shelf while others have
received disproportionate care
and attention. The delay has cost
people their businesses and their
livelihoods.
Our job remains to keep
pressure on those that can make
change, and to do everything we
can to get support into the hand
of the people and businesses that
need it the most.
At NOEA we’re continuing to
fight on behalf of our members
and the wider outdoor events
industry.
13