THE SIC OF IT
CN editorial director Martin Fullard says event businesses must review their SIC codes and use existing ones
tandardised Industrial Classification ( SIC ) codes , which are managed by the Office for National Statistics in the UK , are vitally important to the events industry .
I ’ ve seen several posts on social media over the past month or so about ‘ events ’ not being an option on dropdown menus or recognised more generally . This shouldn ’ t be a surprise to anyone : it ’ s been the cause of the industry ’ s problems even before the pandemic and something I ’ ve been writing about a good deal for the past few years .
In the eyes of Government , the sector does not exist ( certainly on the scale we say it does ). The reason the events industry is not recognised by governments around the world ( and , let me remind you , this is a global and not just a UK problem ) is that it is not correctly coded on the UN ’ s ISIC system . The framework ’ s main purpose is to provide a set of activity categories that can be used for the collection and reporting of statistics according to these activities .
The UK ’ s SIC code system has been aligned to the EU ’ s system , ironically since leaving the EU the UK is now able to make granular changes should it have the impetus . The ONS told me earlier this year that a
Martin Fullard
consultation on updating the codes was on the table ( I will check for an update on this after summer ).
There are only five codes that represent the wider events industry but , by my own investigation , fewer than 20 % of event businesses use the available codes . If you ’ re not using one of the five , you are making the events industry smaller . These codes are the only way a government can measure an industry , and therefore
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“ In the eyes of Government , the sector does not exist ( certainly on the scale we say it does )”
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? ? ! having correct data is vital in recognition . To help strengthen the case for change , you can add one or two of the existing codes to your tax return at the end of the tax year . This may give the Treasury a nudge in the right direction . They are :
• 68202 Letting and operating of conference and exhibition centres
• 82302 Activities of conference organisers
• 82301 Activities of exhibition and fair organisers
• 56210 Event catering activities
• 90020 Support activities to performing arts
Caroline Jackson , who as part of the Business Visits and Events Partnership has done a lot of work on this , tells me : “ This is a global concern and one that is not going to be solved by the latest revision where , in Europe and the USA , there has been little recognition of an events industry . We therefore must make our own case and use the codes that exist . “ Please do this and we can continue to work on UK Government Departments to use the data related to them . We won ’ t change the codes , but we are trying to change the narrative . Standard Occupational Classification ( SOC ) codes now include 3557 ‘ event managers and organisers ’. We are trying to get DCMS to include this in their Economic reports for the Creative Industries .”
Go and check your codes . CN www . conference-news . co . uk