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<p>14% of theatres in the UK are directly operated by local authorities and many more
are owned by and subsidised by local authorities.</p><p>The Theatres Trust has provided
details of six theatre buildings where the operator has either withdrawn from their
operating contract or gone into liquidation, leaving them without an operator since
the start of the pandemic. These theatres are not necessarily closed permanently as
efforts are progressing to identify new operators. DCMS does not collect any further
data in this area.</p><p>In January, the Chancellor announced £4.6 billion in one-off
top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per
property to help businesses through to the Spring. This is in addition to £1.1 billion
further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities, and Local Restriction Support
Grants worth up to £3,000 a month. So far, more than £1 billion has been allocated
to thousands of organisations including theatres.</p><p>Theatres have also benefited
from the Cultural Recovery Fund. To date, over £1.2 billion has been allocated from
this fund, reaching over 5000 individual organisations and sites. Of this funding,
awards with a value of over £183m were made to applicants whose main artform is ‘theatre’
in Round 1 recovery grant funding, and in Round 2 almost £60 million was awarded to
help theatres survive and plan for reopening.</p><p>The Chancellor also announced
in the 2021 Budget an additional £300 million to support theatres, museums and other
cultural organisations in England through the Culture Recovery Fund. This extra funding,
together with other cultural support such as funding for our national museums, means
that our total support package for culture during the pandemic is now approaching
£2bn.</p><p>The Government has also extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme,
and the continued reduction in VAT, among other measures.</p><p> </p>
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