The future of black British music is at risk from prejudice within the live sector, says a digital, culture, media and sport committee report to MPs.

Despite the abolition of form 696 in 2017, said by many to give the Metropolitan police undue power to close down black music events in the capital, “institutionalised” racism continues to affect the sector, Roundhouse head of music, Jane Beese, told the committee.

The report found a lack of support from councils for urban music, with evidence of venues cancelling gigs by rap, and hip-hop acts because of “unfounded” concerns over licensing and safety.

BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ Target commented that a power imbalance between licensing authorities and small venues contributed to the issue. “It could be a venue that has been pressured to cancel the event by the police … The small venue that is already struggling cannot afford to risk it so then they end up saying, ‘OK. We do not do those types of nights any more.’”

A representative for Shoreditch venue Village Underground told the Guardian that programming urban music events had “not always been the easiest”, adding: “We have had to spend on extra security so as not to contravene licensing or police advice, sometimes sharing the cost with promoters.”

The committee has called for for cross-departmental action by the government to develop guidance for licensing authorities, police forces and music venues on risk management, ensuring that urban music acts are not unfairly targeted.

It could be a venue that has been pressured to cancel the event by the police, said Radio 1 Xtra DJ Target. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

The report also found that employment opportunities within the UK live sector may be under threat after Britain leaves the European Union. More than half of the musicians who responded to surveys by the Incorporated Society of Musicians stated that they receive at least half of their income from working in the EU.

The Southbank Centre highlighted the possibility that complicated visa arrangements could impact their ability to book talent at short notice. The committee announced its support for the industry’s calls for the introduction of an EU-wide touring visa.

Following the proposal of a £30,000 immigrant salary threshold after Brexit, the report called on the government to “develop an immigration policy that recognises the broader contribution individuals make beyond their salary level”.

It also encouraged the government to “resist any arrangements” that would result in the reintroduction of temporary customs documents and carnets for touring equipment. This would have “a crippling effect on bands”, said a representative from the Live Music Forum, and “would force any tours in the EU to choose suppliers from outside our borders”, said a spokesperson from the Production Services Association, meaning: “The rock’n’roll trucking business, invented in the UK, would be lost forever.”

The loss of the UK’s live music venues could mean that the ‘next generation of musicians will be denied spaces to hone their craft’. Photograph: Andrew Benge/Getty

The committee further established that music venues are struggling to stay open amid rising costs and declining revenues. It found that the government had failed to act promptly to stem the tide of closures “happening on a scale unprecedented in other cultural sectors”, and stated that “the UK’s position at the forefront of the music industry could be at risk because the next generation of musicians will be denied spaces to hone their craft”.

It called on the government to immediately review the impact of recent changes to business rates on the live music sector and to apply relief schemes to protect grassroots venues and independent festivals. The report said that tax relief given for orchestra performances should be applied to other forms of music production.

London music lovers are rallying to save the Social, the West End venue facing imminent closure on the cusp of its 20th anniversary. It has so far raised £64,500 of a necessary £95,000 to buy a controlling lease of the building and keep its doors open, a sum it must find in the next nine days.

“The Social is far from a unique case – since we found out we were in trouble in December, we’ve witnessed the closures of Gwdihŵ and Buffalo in Cardiff and the Cellar in Oxford,” says venue co-founder Robin Turner. “We share a history with those venues in that we’ve staged early gigs by artists from Adele to Boy Azooga and all points in between. We’re each small rooms that act as springboards for new artists.”

“No one will replace these spaces. What’s never acknowledged when you see stories of the kinds of rent rises and rates increases that take out more and more venues is that they are vital parts of the community – as vital as the BHS cafe on the high street or the public library. They are places for people to meet, to let go, to come alive. People need to hug these places close, as they’ll miss them when they’re gone.”

UK Music chief executive, Michael Dugher, welcomed the report. “It’s great that cross-party MPs have recognised the warnings that we at UK Music have issued over the impact of soaring business rates bills on venues. This committee has now joined MPs from all parties who have called on the chancellor to end the present system, which discriminates against music venues, including by not allowing them to get the same rates’ rebate as pubs and clubs.”

Jeremy Corbyn being given a violin lesson during a visit to Faith Primary School in Liverpool, 27 September 2016. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

The report additionally highlighted a threat to the development of young musical talent in the UK, suggesting that “without access to an appropriate education, high-quality facilities or reliable income streams, people from a diverse range of backgrounds will struggle to build viable careers in the industry”.

Music education is alienating children by not reflecting contemporary genres and production methods, the report suggests. At the opposite end of the musical spectrum, expertise in certain classical instruments “is at risk of dying out” if children are not encouraged to learn to play them.

In 2010, Michael Gove, then secretary of state for education, introduced the English baccalaureate, a combination of subjects that the government considers important for young people to study at GCSE, which included no arts or technical subjects. Surveys and campaigners have attributed a decline in the uptake of music education to the measure.

In January, Midlothian announced that it would become the UK’s first local authority to scrap music education as part of a raft of cost-saving measures. Following protests, including a musical flash mob outside the council chambers, councillors voted to scrap the controversial cut.