Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there are fiscal incentives for businesses looking to invest in creative industries in the UK; and whether she plans to take steps to encourage such investments.
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 them and will implement a creative industries sector plan as part of the Industrial Strategy, creating good jobs and accelerating growth in film, music, gaming, and other creative sectors.
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 financial year 2022-23.
The government also provides a range of grant support.
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 her Department has made of trends in the level of unemployment in (a) the visual effects sector and (b) UK film and TV post production.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The last Parliament saw the biggest increase in economic inactivity in nearly 40 years. Film and TV employment rates were drastically affected by the US writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023, and VFX and post-production was affected for longer than most. Figures from trade union Bectu suggest that the sector is recovering slowly, as unemployment across film and TV is down from 74% in September 2023 to 52% in July 2024. This clearly remains a difficult time for the sector and the government is committed to working with the sector to get it back to rude health, 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, and promoting independent content.
The government will continue to ensure our tax incentives are modern, agile, competitive and attractive.
The government wants to ensure a creative career remains a viable prospect for people from whatever their background. We are working with industry stakeholders as they respond to the recommendations of the Good Work Review, a sectoral deep dive funded by DCMS into job quality and working practice. This sets out a number of priorities, including developing dedicated support and guidance for self-employed creators.
The government will continue to engage with sector organisations such as the UK Screen Alliance to support and champion our award winning VFX and post-production talent and make the UK an attractive and competitive place to do business.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of (1) reduced budgets, (2) loss of advertising revenue, and (3) a changing production landscape, on the UK television and film sector; and what steps they are taking to incentivise people to work in the sector.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government has a clear plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and another 1 million jobs by 2030. This was set out in June 2023 in the Creative Industries Sector Vision, which was accompanied by £77 million of new funding to support the sector’s growth. This is in addition to the range of tax reliefs for the creative industries which have been introduced or expanded since 2010, including for film and television.
HM Government is already taking steps to ensure a strong, skilled and resilient workforce for the film and television sector – as well as the creative industries more broadly – across the UK. The Creative Industries Sector Vision set out that by 2030 we want to deliver on our creative careers promise to build a pipeline of talent into the sector, and to support the creation of a million extra jobs. The Sector Vision includes a long-term strategy to improve the quality of jobs and working practices in the sector, including supporting the high proportion of self-employed workers in the sector through the promotion of fair treatment, support networks, and resources (for example through Creative UK’s ‘Redesigning Freelancing’ initiative).
HM Government also welcomes the steps that our public service broadcasters have taken to support self-employed workers. This includes the support announced by Channel 4 and the BBC in August, in partnership with the National Film and Television School.
DCMS and the industry have also committed to produce an action plan in response to the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre’s Good Work Review; these actions include the recent launch of the British Film Institute’s £1.5 million Good Work Programme for screen. HM Government will continue to work with the BFI and the Screen Sector Skills Task Force to support a strong skills pipeline into the sector.
On pensions, the new State Pension supports self-employed freelancers as comprehensively as employed people. The new State Pension, introduced in 2016, means that self-employed people can receive a State Pension which is around £2,700 a year higher than it would have been in the previous system. The self-employed are a highly diverse group with varying incomes, assets, and employment experiences. The Department for Work & Pensions has undertaken an initial research and trial programme to test different approaches aimed at increasing private pension-saving. It is currently working with research partners, including looking at international evidence, to explore the feasibility of building and testing retirement savings solutions in digital platforms used by self-employed people to manage their money.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
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 assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the Bectu report entitled UK film and TV industry in crisis, published on 26 February 2024.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The UK Government understands the huge value of our world-leading film and TV production sector and the importance of self-employed workers to the sector and wider creative economy.
The UK Government has a clear plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and support another 1 million jobs by 2030. This was set out in June 2023 in the Creative Industries Sector Vision, which was accompanied by £77 million of new funding to support the sector’s growth. This is on top of a range of tax reliefs for the creative industries that have been introduced or expanded since 2010.
The Government is already taking steps to ensure a strong, skilled and resilient workforce for the film and TV sector - as well as the wider creative industries - across the UK. The Creative Industries Sector Vision set out that by 2030 we want to deliver on our creative careers promise, to build a pipeline of talent into the sector and supports a million extra jobs. The Sector Vision includes a long-term strategy to improve the job quality and working practices in the sector, including supporting the high proportion of self-employed workers through the promotion of fair treatment, support networks and resources (for example through Creative UK's Redesigning Freelancing initiative).
The Government also welcomes the steps that our public service broadcasters have taken to support self-employed workers in response to current pressures. This includes the programme of support Channel 4 and the BBC announced in August, in partnership with the National Film and Television School.
DCMS and industry have also committed to produce an action plan in response to the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre’s Good Work Review, and actions include the recent launch of the British Film Institute’s £1.5 million Good Work Programme for screen. The government will continue to work with the BFI and the Screen Sector Skills Task Force to support a strong skills pipeline in the sector.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has taken recent steps to support independent cinemas.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Government recognises that cinemas are a hugely important part of the UK’s fantastic film industry and has been supporting them throughout the uncertainties of the past several years with the pandemic and rising energy costs.
We supported more than 200 independent cinemas through the pandemic, who received £34.4 million from the Culture Recovery Fund as well as benefiting from other pan-economy measures. The Government has also delivered an £18 billion package of support through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme supporting businesses - including cinemas, arts venues, and charities - through the winter.
The Government’s £500m Film and TV Production Restart Scheme also helped keep the cameras rolling at the other end of the screen supply chain. The scheme supported over 100,000 jobs and productions worth more than £3 billion. To build on this, and support the industry to not only survive but thrive, further actions have been taken. This includes the Government’s current £1.6 million annual funding of the British Film Commission, the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund, and the continued success of our screen sector tax reliefs. This has been further bolstered at Spring Budget 2024 with the new UK Independent Film Tax Credit, with films with budgets up to £15 million being eligible for an increased benefit of 53% - which is estimated to increase spending on independent films by 70% before 2032.
The British Film Institute (BFI), a DCMS Arms Length Body, is also conscious of the pressures faced by the cinema sector. The BFI’s Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) is a collaboration of 8 film hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues around the UK. Film hubs are centres of expertise and support that connect cinemas, festivals and creative practitioners. You can also read more about the National Lottery funding the BFI makes available to bring film to a wider UK audience, including through BFI FAN, at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/get-funding-support/bring-film-wider-uk-audience.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
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 support the (a) growth and (b) development of the creative industries in South Wales.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The UK Government has a clear plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and add another 1 million jobs by 2030. As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Vision, we are committed to working with industry and the devolved administrations to ensure our creative industries continue to be the best in the world. As part of this, we invited Creative Wales to become a member of the Creative Industries Council to ensure they are represented in discussions about the UK’s creative industries.
Culture and the creative industries are devolved policy areas. The UK Government has provided opportunities to support Welsh creative businesses through the following programmes:
The UK-wide Film & TV Restart scheme which supported 1,259 individual film and TV productions and £3.06 billion in production expenditure through the pandemic. Wales received £287.5 million – the largest share of funding of any nation after England (c.9%).
The £56 million Creative Clusters programme was announced in the 2018 Sector Deal: and supported R&D across the Cardiff Clwstwr one of 9 first-wave of clusters across the UK. The Clusters programme has generated approximately £252 million of private co-investment, creating or safeguarding over 4000 jobs.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 help (a) support and (b) increase (i) creative and (ii) cultural exports.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
In June 2023, the Government and the Creative Industries Council launched the Creative Industries Sector Vision, which sets out our long term strategy for supporting and growing the creative industries. The Sector Vision can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-sector-vision
The Government is delivering on its plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and add another 1 million jobs by 2030.
Since 2010, the Government has introduced a range of tax reliefs across the creative industries, from film and television, to animation, video games, orchestras, theatres and more. The Chancellor announced further support at the Spring Budget, with £1 billion of additional tax relief over the next five years. This has led to significant growth in the creative industries over the last 14 years, helping to double the economic value of the creative industries and create more than one million new jobs since 2010.
Our tax reliefs are driving inward investment, helping unleash job creation and economic growth across the country. The Government’s generous screen sector tax reliefs have driven a record breaking spend of £6.3 billion on film and high-end TV production in 2022, of which £5.4 billion - 86% - was inward investment.
Our tax reliefs have also helped drive an increase in cultural and creative service exports. DCMS works with other departments including FCDO and DBT, industry bodies and trade associations to promote the creative industries overseas, from delivering creative trade missions to HMG-backed funding schemes. Examples include the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund, delivered by the British Film Institute, which provides grants to develop, distribute and promote independent UK and UK co-produced screen content in international markets and the Music Export Growth Scheme, which provides grant funding to support UK-based independent music SMEs to develop export campaigns to grow their international business and export revenue. My department is also committed to ensuring that the interests of the creative industries are pursued in the UK’s ambitious programme of Free Trade Agreements, including on audiovisual services, intellectual property rights and supporting the movement of creative professionals.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has a long-term strategy to support the (a) expansion and (b) global competitiveness of creative industries.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
In June 2023, the Government and the Creative Industries Council launched the Creative Industries Sector Vision, which sets out our long term strategy for supporting and growing the creative industries. The Sector Vision can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/creative-industries-sector-vision
The Government is delivering on its plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and add another 1 million jobs by 2030.
Since 2010, the Government has introduced a range of tax reliefs across the creative industries, from film and television, to animation, video games, orchestras, theatres and more. The Chancellor announced further support at the Spring Budget, with £1 billion of additional tax relief over the next five years. This has led to significant growth in the creative industries over the last 14 years, helping to double the economic value of the creative industries and create more than one million new jobs since 2010.
Our tax reliefs are driving inward investment, helping unleash job creation and economic growth across the country. The Government’s generous screen sector tax reliefs have driven a record breaking spend of £6.3 billion on film and high-end TV production in 2022, of which £5.4 billion - 86% - was inward investment.
Our tax reliefs have also helped drive an increase in cultural and creative service exports. DCMS works with other departments including FCDO and DBT, industry bodies and trade associations to promote the creative industries overseas, from delivering creative trade missions to HMG-backed funding schemes. Examples include the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund, delivered by the British Film Institute, which provides grants to develop, distribute and promote independent UK and UK co-produced screen content in international markets and the Music Export Growth Scheme, which provides grant funding to support UK-based independent music SMEs to develop export campaigns to grow their international business and export revenue. My department is also committed to ensuring that the interests of the creative industries are pursued in the UK’s ambitious programme of Free Trade Agreements, including on audiovisual services, intellectual property rights and supporting the movement of creative professionals.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Independent Film Tax Credit on the independent film sector.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The UK Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC) announced at Spring Budget is an enhanced tax credit, designed to boost the production of UK independent films and incubate UK film talent. Under the IFTC, films with budgets up to £15m that meet the criteria of a new British Film Institute test will be able to claim a tax credit of 53% on up to 80% of their UK production costs.
Industry has welcomed the measure, with the British Film Institute Chair describing it as a game changer for UK filmmakers that will create jobs and ensure great British stories continue to be told.
Further information on HMRC’s assessment of the credit can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/corporation-tax-tax-relief-for-independent-film-productions
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the film and television industry in England, including the freelance workforce, and to encourage investment from the US, following the industrial action by Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in 2023.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government has set out a clear plan to grow the creative industries by a further £50 billion and to add another 1 million jobs in the sector by 2030. That includes supporting the growth of the television and film industry.
Since 2010, HM Government has introduced a range of tax reliefs across the creative industries, including expanded relief for film and high-end television. Our screen sector tax relief is estimated to be worth more than £13 billion in Gross Value Added to the UK economy.
We have taken a number of additional steps to ensure that British film and television companies are able to invest in production, expand their businesses, and offer opportunities for cast and crew across the UK, in spite of production disruption resulting from the pandemic and the recent strike action in the United States of America.
This includes the £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme and the Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas. To build on this, and support the industry not only to survive but to thrive, the Government has taken further actions. This includes our support for the British Film Institute and British Film Commission, which has helped drive a near doubling of UK studio capacity, and the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund, which is expanding the global reach of UK independent content. The sector also benefits from the continued success of our screen sector tax reliefs (for film, high-end TV, animation and children’s TV), which in 2021–22 provided £792 million of support for over 1,000 projects.
We recognise the impact of the American strikes on the film and TV workforce. HMRC has a ‘Time to Pay’ policy which may provide some support to affected cast and crew. This policy allows people experiencing temporary financial difficulty to schedule their tax debts in affordable, sustainable, and tailored instalments with no maximum repayment period. These arrangements can be applied to any tax debt and are flexible, so they can be amended if circumstances change.
In the Creative Industries Sector Vision, the Government set out an ambition to improve the job quality and working practices of the sector, including supporting the high proportion of freelancers in the sector. This includes promoting fair treatment and working practices, enhancing support networks and resources for creative freelancers through Creative UK's Redesigning Freelancing initiative. DCMS and the industry will also continue to work together to produce an action plan in response to the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre’s Good Work Review, and proposals include the recent launch of the British Film Institute’s £1.5 million Good Work Programme for screen. The Government will continue to work with the BFI and the newly established screen sector Skills Task Force to support a strong skills pipeline in the sector and attractive careers pathways into the industry.