Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of potential impact of the high-end television tax relief on (a) levels of drama and comedy production, (b) the UK's creative economy and (c) jobs and talent development.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government recognises the value of the UK’s world leading creative industries and the creative industries tax reliefs help ensure that these sectors remain world-class, projecting our values and influence around the world.
The objective of high-end TV tax relief is to support and incentivise the production of culturally British content. In the year ending March 2022, £397 million of high-end TV tax relief was paid in response to 370 claims, representing 355 programmes.
In November 2022, an evaluation of the film and TV tax reliefs was published. The evaluation can be accessed here: Creative Industry Tax Reliefs Evaluation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the UK’s film and television industry.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring that British film and television industries are able to deliver for audiences, expand their businesses, and offer opportunities for cast and crew across the UK.
In recent years, the Government’s actions have helped the film and TV industry bounce back from the pandemic, with production now stronger than ever. This includes the £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme, supporting over 100,000 jobs and productions worth more than £3 billion. In addition, the Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas supported over 200 independent cinemas to ensure that films could be screened in cinemas following the pandemic.
To build on this, and support the sector to not only survive but thrive, the government has taken further action. This includes the Government’s current £1.6 million annual funding of the British Film Commission, which has driven a near doubling of UK studio capacity, the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund, which is expanding the global reach of UK independent content, and 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 1000 projects. HM Treasury has published a consultation on reforms to the audio-visual tax reliefs, which aims to ensure they remain world leading and continue to best serve the needs of creative companies.
In addition, the Government intends to update the existing legislative framework to ensure that our public service broadcasters have the tools to grow and flourish in the digital age. Our proposed reforms will, for example, ensure that public service content is always carried and easy to find on connected devices and major online platforms, including on smart TVs, set-top boxes and streaming sticks.
These and other reforms set out in our Broadcasting White Paper, published earlier this year, will ensure that our television and film industries continue to prosper in our new media landscape – an outcome that is good for both audiences and the creative economy.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has taken recent steps to encourage British film companies to invest in production within the UK.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring that British film companies are able to invest in production, expand their businesses and offer opportunities for cast and crew across the UK.
In recent years, the government’s actions have helped the film and TV industry bounce back from the pandemic, with production now stronger than ever. This includes the £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme, supporting over 100,000 jobs and productions worth more than £3 billion. In addition, the Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas supported over 200 independent cinemas to ensure that films could be screened in cinemas following the pandemic.
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, which has driven a near doubling of UK studio capacity, the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund, which is expanding the global reach of UK independent content, and 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 1000 projects.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to promote the UK as an attractive destination for filmmaking.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK remains the leading global destination for inward investors in filmmaking.
In recent years, the government’s actions have helped the film and TV industry bounce back from the pandemic, with production now stronger than ever. This includes the £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme, supporting over 100,000 jobs and productions worth more than £3 billion, and the Culture Recovery Fund, supporting over 200 independent cinemas.
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 £1.6million annual funding of the British Film Commission, which has driven a near doubling of UK studio capacity, the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund, which is expanding the global reach of UK independent content, and the continued success of our screen sector tax reliefs (for film, high end TV, animation and children’s TV), which in 2021-22 provided £792m of support for over 1000 projects.
The Government will continue to engage closely with industry, the British Film Institute, and the British Film Commission, to further promote the UK as a filmmaking destination and to build upon the success of 2021, which saw a record-breaking £5.64 billion in screen production in the film and high-end TV sectors alone.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of using the tax system to incentivise low carbon or carbon neutral TV and film production.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government believes the creative industries, including TV and film production, have a great opportunity to lead the way in transitioning to a low carbon economy, and welcomes the work delivered by a number of schemes in this area, including BAFTA’s ‘albert’ sustainability initiative.
The Government will continue to facilitate discussions on sustainable production within the industry domestically and internationally, as it did when the UK held the Presidency of the Council of Europe’s European Audiovisual Observatory last year, with the theme ‘sustainability’.
The Government keeps all tax reliefs under review and regularly receives proposals for changes to tax reliefs. When considering changes, HM Treasury must ensure they provide support to businesses across the economy in a fair way and represent good value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to invest in the regional film industry.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
My department continues to work closely with the British Film Institute (BFI) and the Devolved Administrations to ensure a wide range of funding and initiatives are available to support the film industry across the UK. This includes the UK-wide screen sector tax reliefs, the £500 million Production Restart Scheme, and the UK Global Screen Fund which will invest nearly £30 million in the international growth of independent screen companies across the UK.
The BFI has invested £64 million of National Lottery funding outside of London and the South East region between 2017/18 and 2021/22 across the UK. This support ranges from audience and talent development programmes, run in conjunction with regional Film Hubs and national screen agencies across the UK, through to the National Cluster Growth Fund, which supports the development of high potential screen clusters outside of London and the South East - such as Screen Yorkshire and Create Central in the West Midlands. The BFI is currently developing its National Lottery strategy for the next ten years and is consulting stakeholders and the public as it develops its objectives, outcomes, and programmes to ensure it delivers maximum impact for both audiences and industry across the UK.
The Government also works closely with the British Film Commission (BFC), a national body predominantly funded by DCMS, which also supports and promotes UK-wide film and high-end television production and works in close partnership with the national and regional screen agencies.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the operation of Government-backed COVID-19 insurance schemes for the creative industries.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The UK Live Events Reinsurance Scheme and Film and TV Production Restart Scheme were introduced as part of HM Government's commitment to provide support during the Covid-19 pandemic and address market failure in the insurance sector.
Both schemes have contributed positively to the creative industries.The UK Film and TV Production Restart Scheme has supported a production boom during the pandemic, so far protecting over 95,000 jobs and nearly £3 billion of production spend, ensuring the continued production of content for our screens. Since the Live Events Reinsurance Scheme’s launch in September 2021, around £110 million of cover has been written for a wide variety of events, including business events, concerts and theatre performances. So far, 2.7 million people have attended or are due to attend events covered by the Scheme. In addition to directly supporting events, the scheme also protects the supply chains and local economies that depend on their taking place.
The Film and TV Production Restart Scheme’s operation was assessed by an independent body in a Process Evaluation published in January 2022. The research found that close working with industry on establishing the scheme ensured that those most in need of support were able to benefit. An impact evaluation will be published by the end of the year. Similarly, the Live Events Reinsurance Scheme will be undergoing a review in the Spring to assess its effectiveness, including the extent to which it has benefitted the live events sector while also delivering value for money for UK taxpayers. A full evaluation of the Scheme will follow in early 2023.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with Northern Ireland Screen and other producers on support for the film industry in the devolved Administrations.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
My department continues to work closely with its Arm’s Length Body, the British Film Institute (BFI), and the Devolved Administrations to ensure a wide range of funding and initiatives are available to support the film industry in all UK Nations. This includes the UK-wide screen sector tax reliefs, and the UK Global Screen Fund which will invest nearly £30 million in the international growth of independent screen companies across the UK. In addition, the government’s £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme has supported over 1,100 productions around the UK, representing over £2.9 billion of production budgets with over 95,000 jobs supported.
Examples of government support that have been provided to the Northern Irish film industry include the National Lottery-supported talent development programme BFI NETWORK. Northern Ireland Screen also receives Lottery funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, which it has used to prioritise script development and short films, and receives funding for the Irish Language Broadcast Fund and Ulster Scots Broadcast Fund via the BFI. Furthermore, the BFI will continue to consult colleagues from Northern Ireland Screen as part of the UK Film Skills Review, alongside those from other key bodies in the Devolved Administrations.
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 all Devolved Administrations, and works in close partnership with the national and regional screen agencies.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate the Government has made of the loss of income within the live events industry as a result of covid-19 related cancellations.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The pandemic has been a unique challenge to the live events industry. The government is committed to supporting the live events industry and continues to work with the sector to understand losses and recovery.
To assist with recovery, from 22 September 2021, the UK Live Events Reinsurance Scheme has given events the confidence they need to plan through to Summer 2022. The Scheme will support live events across the country - such as concerts and festivals, conferences and business events - that are at risk of being cancelled or delayed due to an inability to obtain Covid-19 cancellation insurance; it will enable the sector to plan future events with greater confidence.
The scheme is in addition to the extensive support already given to the cultural sector throughout the pandemic, including the nearly £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund and the £500 million Film and TV Production Restart scheme.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent financial provisions he has made, following the implementation of covid-19 Plan B, for businesses within the live events sector.
Answered by Simon Clarke
For businesses within the live events sector, the Live Events Reinsurance Scheme supports events that the general public are able to purchase tickets to - such as music festivals, sporting and business events - that are at risk of being halted or delayed due to an inability to obtain COVID-19 cancellation insurance. Over £800 million in cover will be available to purchase alongside standard commercial events insurance for an additional premium. Cover is being bought by events across the UK. This intervention supports the UK’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis by giving events across the country the confidence they need to plan for the future.
This is a world-leading insurance scheme, backed by a number of prominent insurers in the Lloyd’s market, including Arch, Beazley, Dale, Hiscox and Munich Re, with few countries offering this kind of cover. It builds on our existing offering of support to the industry, including the £500 million Film and TV Production Restart scheme.
The government announced last month that it is making available an additional £30m through the nearly £2 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) to increase the Emergency Resource Support currently available for cultural organisations to apply for. So far more than £1.5 billion has been allocated to around 5,000 individual organisations and sites through the CRF including theatres, orchestras, dance and music venues, supporting live events and performance.