Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure growth in the British film industry.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s Industrial Strategy will prioritise the creative industries.
We will ensure that the sector can continue to drive growth, boost opportunities and help people to fulfil their creative potential across the UK, including in Hertsmere. Our support includes:
Providing £1 million in funding for 2025/26 for the British Film Commission, which has previously provided support for both Elstree Studios and Sky Studios Elstree in Hertsmere;
Expanding the global reach of independent content through with a further £7 million for the UK Global Screen Fund in 2025/26;
Building on the success of the screen sector tax reliefs, by introducing the enhanced Independent Film Tax Credit, and a new 5% uplift on the rate of relief for visual effects.
Opportunities to drive growth in our screen sectors exist across the whole of the UK, with seven established film production hubs and many more areas brimming with potential and ambition. The film industry also benefits from two major UK Research and Innovation programmes run by the Arts and Humanities Research Council: the £75.6 million CoSTAR programme and the £56 million Creative Industries Clusters programme
In addition, the British Film Institute has committed £34.2 million National Lottery funding over 2023-2026 for education and skills programmes. This includes £9 million to develop skills clusters, one of which has been set up to cover the Metro London area, which includes Hertfordshire, led by Film London.
Asked by: Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the current framework, conditions and support for film and television producers headquartered outside London, including the application of Ofcom’s regional quotas for public service broadcasters in relation to companies which have a substantive base only outside London, in enabling the commissioning of programmes from every part of the UK.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to supporting the growth of the TV and film industry across the whole of the UK. As the Secretary of State has made clear, the television sector specifically is too centralised in London and the South East. That is why the Government has called on broadcasters to be more ambitious in growing the sector in other parts of the country, in order to spread its benefits to towns and cities across the UK. DCMS is taking forward work to understand the opportunities and challenges to further growing the television industry outside of London and the South East to enable commissioning and production activity across the UK. We are committed to working with the sector to ensure the right framework, conditions and support are in place for this to happen.
All public service broadcasters are subject to regional programme making quotas, which are set and monitored by the independent media regulator Ofcom, who also produce the associated guidance. Any changes to these quotas is similarly a matter for Ofcom.
On the matter of film, the Government maintains a UK-wide funding programme, including investment in infrastructure and tax reliefs to support independent British content. We fund the British Film Institute (BFI) to support the film sector through nationwide funding and initiatives. The BFI’s ten year strategy, Screen Culture 2033, sets out its core principle to reach across the full breadth of our nation. The BFI have sought to devolve funding, share power and support networks across regions. They have been awarded £9 million to enable seven Skills Clusters across the UK to identify skills gaps, coordinate local skills training, and develop clearer pathways to long-term employment in the sector.
We support the British Film Commission’s work and our funding has supported the growth of seven geographic production hubs across the UK, by investing in infrastructure and attracting global film productions that bring inward investment into the local and national economy.
The Government recently introduced the Independent Film Tax Credit to support homegrown talent, which will mean that productions with a budget up to £15 million will be eligible for a relief of 53% on qualifying expenditure, whilst films with a budget up to £23.5 million are also eligible and the relief will be tapered. We support independent content across the nations and regions through the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund. The Chancellor recently confirmed that UK Visual Effects costs in film and high-end TV productions will receive a 5% increase in Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit from 1 April 2025, for an overall rate of 39%.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support the (a) TV and (b) film industry outside of London.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is firmly committed to supporting the growth of the TV and film industry across every nation and region.
Our TV sector, in particular, is centralised in London and the South East, which is why my Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State has called on broadcasters to be more ambitious in growing the sector outside of London and the South East, and to commission more content from right across the UK. My Department is taking forward work to understand the barriers to further growing the industry outside of London and we are committed to working with the sector to ensure the right framework, conditions and support are in place for this to happen.
Through our UK-wide funding programmes, investment in infrastructure, tax reliefs and support for independent British content, we want the UK to be the best place in the world to make films. We fund the British Film Institute (BFI) to support the film sector through nationwide funding and initiatives. The BFI’s ten year strategy, Screen Culture 2033, sets out its core principle to reach across the full breadth of our nation. The BFI have sought to devolve funding, share power, and support networks across regions, in particular through their Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) which is a collaboration of 8 film hubs.
The BFI is also tackling skills shortages in the sector to underpin growth across the UK. Under the BFI’s National Lottery Skills Clusters Fund, £8.1 million has been awarded to enable six Skills Clusters across the UK to identify skills gaps, coordinate local skills training, and develop clearer pathways to long-term employment in the sector.
We support the British Film Commission’s (BFC) work, with £6 million in funding, over the last five years. This funding has supported the growth of seven geographic production hubs across the UK, by investing in infrastructure and attracting global film productions that bring inward investment into the local and national economy.
We also want to support independent British content, to ensure stories from across the UK are told on screen. We recently brought in the Independent Film Tax Credit to support homegrown talent. This will mean that for the first time productions with a budget up to £15 million will be eligible for a relief of 53% on qualifying expenditure. Films with a budget up to £23.5 million are also eligible for the IFTC and the relief will be tapered. We also support indie content across the nations and regions to grow internationally through the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF).
At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor confirmed that from 1 April 2025, UK visual effects costs in film and high-end TV productions will receive a 5% increase in Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC), for an overall rate of 39%.
In addition, to boost the contribution of film tourism to local economies, DCMS Arm’s-Length Body VisitBritain uses high profile filming locations across the UK as part of its international tourism marketing activity.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that growth in the British film industry is shared across the UK.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is firmly committed to supporting the growth of the film industry across every nation and region. Through our UK-wide funding programmes, investment in infrastructure, tax reliefs and support for independent British content, we want the UK to be the best place in the world to make films.
We fund the British Film Institute (BFI) to support the film sector through nationwide funding and initiatives. The BFI’s ten year strategy, Screen Culture 2033, sets out its core principle to reach across the full breadth of our nation. The BFI have sought to devolve funding, share power, and support networks across regions, in particular through their Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) which is a collaboration of 8 film hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues around the UK. Film Hub North covers Liverpool.
The BFI is also tackling skills shortages in the sector to underpin growth across the UK. Under the BFI’s National Lottery Skills Clusters Fund, £8.1 million has been awarded to enable six Skills Clusters across the UK to identify skills gaps, coordinate local skills training, and develop clearer pathways to long-term employment in the sector. This programme includes £2.3m awarded to Screen Alliance North - created by the Liverpool Film Office, North East Screen, Screen Manchester, and Screen Yorkshire - over 2023-2026.
We support the British Film Commission (BFC) work, with £6 million in funding, to support the growth of seven geographic production hubs across the UK, by investing in infrastructure and attracting global film productions that bring inward investment into the local and national economy. This includes support for Liverpool, most recently supporting and advising on the Liverpool Littlewoods film studio development.
We also want to support independent British content, to ensure stories from across the UK are told on screen. We recently brought in the Independent Film Tax Credit to support homegrown talent, and we support indie content to grow internationally through the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF). Daliland and The Almond and The Seahorse, both of which were shot in Liverpool, received international distribution awards from UKGSF.
In addition, to boost the contribution of film tourism to local economies, DCMS Arm’s-Length Body VisitBritain uses high profile filming locations as part of its international tourism marketing activity.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the growth of the film industry in Liverpool.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is firmly committed to supporting the growth of the film industry across every nation and region. Through our UK-wide funding programmes, investment in infrastructure, tax reliefs and support for independent British content, we want the UK to be the best place in the world to make films.
We fund the British Film Institute (BFI) to support the film sector through nationwide funding and initiatives. The BFI’s ten year strategy, Screen Culture 2033, sets out its core principle to reach across the full breadth of our nation. The BFI have sought to devolve funding, share power, and support networks across regions, in particular through their Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) which is a collaboration of 8 film hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues around the UK. Film Hub North covers Liverpool.
The BFI is also tackling skills shortages in the sector to underpin growth across the UK. Under the BFI’s National Lottery Skills Clusters Fund, £8.1 million has been awarded to enable six Skills Clusters across the UK to identify skills gaps, coordinate local skills training, and develop clearer pathways to long-term employment in the sector. This programme includes £2.3m awarded to Screen Alliance North - created by the Liverpool Film Office, North East Screen, Screen Manchester, and Screen Yorkshire - over 2023-2026.
We support the British Film Commission (BFC) work, with £6 million in funding, to support the growth of seven geographic production hubs across the UK, by investing in infrastructure and attracting global film productions that bring inward investment into the local and national economy. This includes support for Liverpool, most recently supporting and advising on the Liverpool Littlewoods film studio development.
We also want to support independent British content, to ensure stories from across the UK are told on screen. We recently brought in the Independent Film Tax Credit to support homegrown talent, and we support indie content to grow internationally through the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF). Daliland and The Almond and The Seahorse, both of which were shot in Liverpool, received international distribution awards from UKGSF.
In addition, to boost the contribution of film tourism to local economies, DCMS Arm’s-Length Body VisitBritain uses high profile filming locations as part of its international tourism marketing activity.
Asked by: Chris Kane (Labour - Stirling and Strathallan)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment has she made of the impact of the UK Film industry on Scotland's economy.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Creative Industries policy is an area of devolved competency in Scotland. It is the responsibility of the Scottish Government to make an assessment of the economic impact of the UK Film Industry on Scotland. However, a report from Screen Scotland estimates that in 2021 the wider Film & TV sector in Scotland supported 10,940 FTE (full time equivalent) workers, with an overall economic contribution to Scotland’s economy of £627.1 million. Furthermore, VisitScotland’s research shows that up to 18% of inbound visitors from its top international markets visit a film or TV location during their trips to Scotland.
Through our Arm’s Length Body the British Film Institute (BFI), the government supports the film sector across the UK. The government has worked with the BFI to ensure a wide range of funding and initiatives are available to support Scottish production and the development of talent. Examples of support for the Scottish film industry include the BFI Film Fund, the BFI NETWORK and the BFI Film Audience Network, which use National Lottery Funding for development, production, distribution and promotion, supporting Scottish films, Scottish audiences and emerging Scottish filmmakers.
The British Film Commission (BFC), a national body predominantly funded by DCMS, also supports and promotes UK-wide film and high-end television production, including in Scotland. It works in close partnership with Screen Scotland, the national screen agency for Scotland funded by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. Scotland is featured as part of all BFC marketing campaigns and assets, including show reels, websites and brochures, that are designed to facilitate film making and promote British locations. The BFC facilitates regular business development meetings with international film and television clients for representatives from all UK nations, including Scotland.
DCMS also has regular meetings on the film industry with Devolved Government officials, in particular to discuss the DCMS-funded UK Global Screen Fund which is designed to boost international development, production, distribution, and promotional opportunities for the independent screen sector across all nations including Scotland.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the competitiveness of the UK visual effects sector.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is a global hub of talent and is home to many of the world’s biggest VFX studios. The UK’s visual effects (VFX) sector is highly competitive, competing successfully with production centres in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South East Asia, and Europe, to secure substantial inward investment.
The government is committed to supporting the UK’s visual effects industry, ensuring that they are able to remain competitive and with international reach. We will continue to focus on maintaining a strong and globally competitive sector by attracting new film and high-end TV productions that require our VFX and post-production studios; providing competitive tax incentives; investing in infrastructure; supporting innovation; working with industry on skills development; and promoting independent content. The government will continue to ensure our tax incentives are modern, agile, competitive and attractive.
The government will continue to engage both with sector organisations like the UK Screen Alliance and with individual VFX studios to make sure the UK remains an attractive and competitive place to do business.
Whilst DCMS Sector Economic Estimates provide high level figures for employment within the Creative Industries, DCMS does not hold this information for each creative sub sector. However, BFI’s most recent report estimates that the UK VFX sector directly employed 10,680 FTE in 2021. The same BFI report also estimates the total number of jobs supported by VFX, including indirect employment through the supply chain, was 27,430 FTE in 2021.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of the number of people employed in the UK's visual effects sector.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is a global hub of talent and is home to many of the world’s biggest VFX studios. The UK’s visual effects (VFX) sector is highly competitive, competing successfully with production centres in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South East Asia, and Europe, to secure substantial inward investment.
The government is committed to supporting the UK’s visual effects industry, ensuring that they are able to remain competitive and with international reach. We will continue to focus on maintaining a strong and globally competitive sector by attracting new film and high-end TV productions that require our VFX and post-production studios; providing competitive tax incentives; investing in infrastructure; supporting innovation; working with industry on skills development; and promoting independent content. The government will continue to ensure our tax incentives are modern, agile, competitive and attractive.
The government will continue to engage both with sector organisations like the UK Screen Alliance and with individual VFX studios to make sure the UK remains an attractive and competitive place to do business.
Whilst DCMS Sector Economic Estimates provide high level figures for employment within the Creative Industries, DCMS does not hold this information for each creative sub sector. However, BFI’s most recent report estimates that the UK VFX sector directly employed 10,680 FTE in 2021. The same BFI report also estimates the total number of jobs supported by VFX, including indirect employment through the supply chain, was 27,430 FTE in 2021.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had recent discussions with industry stakeholders on increasing investment in the creative industries; and what steps her Department is taking to support new investors.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Yes, ministers and officials have had many such discussions and we are committed to increasing investment in the creative industries from a variety of sources.
One of the ways that the Government incentivises investment in the sector is through the creative industry tax reliefs, which provide generous support for production costs of theatres, orchestras, museums and galleries and film, TV and video games companies. The reliefs delivered £2.2 billion of support to these industries in the financial year 2022-23.
DCMS also works with other government departments and bodies including the Department for Business and Trade and UK Research and Innovation to encourage new investors to consider investing in the creative industries. This includes work through the activity of DCMS’s Create Growth Programme and the Seed Enterprise Investment and Enterprise Investors Schemes, which are available for those looking to invest in start-up and scale-up creative industries businesses, offering tax reliefs to individual investors.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she is taking to support the film and TV industry.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The creative industries play a key role in driving economic growth. The Government is committed to supporting the creative industries as a key part of its plan to fix the foundations of the economy.
As part of this, film and TV companies benefit from extra tax relief through the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit, which provides generous support for production costs. A total of £1.6 billion was paid out to film and TV companies in financial year 2022-23.
In addition, on 9 October the Government announced that it will finish legislating a new Independent Film Tax Credit. This policy will go further to support independent films and develop a pipeline of UK film talent.