This government has a bit of a habit this week of leaking out news. Yesterday, I covered the subject of visa free touring and government claims that just didn’t stack up. This morning, I woke up to the news they’ve finally put a Covid insurance scheme in place for music festivals and other large events.

But what took them so long? The live music industry and others have been calling for this for several months. The first calls I heard on this subject date back as far as November 2020 – yet the government only announces it now and only from September, after many of the live events have been and gone?

And a number of details are missing. Yes, they’ll be compensated if Covid restrictions mean an event can’t go ahead. But what about if an event can’t happen due to a performer being forced into isolation just before it happens? What happens if social distancing regulations – scrapped in England, but still in place elsewhere in the UK – limit crowd capacity? Will they be compensated in the circumstances?

This announcement is desperately short on detail, even by this government’s standards. I get the feeling when it becomes available, many people are going to be very disappointed…