Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will provide sector-specific support to the cinema sector following the closure of Cineworld venues; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government deeply regrets the unfortunate news of Cineworld’s temporary closure and is in direct and regular contact with the screen industry, including distributors and exhibitors, as well as through the BFI Screen Sector Task Force.
The government has supported cinemas through the VAT cut on tickets and concessions, business rates holiday and Bounce back loans. Independent cinemas are also eligible for a share of £30m from our unprecedented £1.57bn Culture Recovery Rund, and funding has started to be allocated already.
We recognise that cinemas need an incoming stream of new releases to show and we are supporting production by establishing a £500 million in a UK-wide Film and TV Production Restart Scheme to help get productions back up and running again. This will support the creation of new content which can be released into cinemas of all sizes.
Cinemas up and down the country are open for business and Covid secure - we urge the British public to support their local cinema and save jobs by visiting and enjoying a film in accordance with the guidance.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the economic effect of Cineworld's decision to close its cinemas affecting up to 6,000 UK jobs.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government deeply regrets the unfortunate news of Cineworld’s temporary closure and is in direct and regular contact with the screen industry, including distributors and exhibitors, as well as through the BFI Screen Sector Task Force.
The government has supported cinemas through the VAT cut on tickets and concessions, business rates holiday and Bounce back loans. Independent cinemas are also eligible for a share of £30m from our unprecedented £1.57bn Culture Recovery Rund, and funding has started to be allocated already.
We recognise that cinemas need an incoming stream of new releases to show and we are supporting production by establishing a £500 million in a UK-wide Film and TV Production Restart Scheme to help get productions back up and running again. This will support the creation of new content which can be released into cinemas of all sizes.
Cinemas up and down the country are open for business and Covid secure - we urge the British public to support their local cinema and save jobs by visiting and enjoying a film in accordance with the guidance.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received from (a) sporting clubs, (b) theatres, (c) exhibition groups and (d) other event operators on Government support for the contingency insurance market during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector on its response to this unprecedented situation. We encourage businesses experiencing financial difficulty to research the initiatives in the Government’s support package such as the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Our schemes are continuously under review to make sure our schemes are accessible, fair and targeted to help those who need it the most.
DCMS also regularly engages with businesses and sector representative bodies in order to properly understand the issues being faced as well as to develop means of offering support. Over recent months DCMS has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders such as Sport England, Society of London Theatre, UK Theatre and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel.
Some of the support the government has offered includes the unprecedented £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund - the largest ever one-off investment in culture - to help countless organisations weather the COVID storm; and the £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme, which will assist the film and TV production sectors who are ready to return to work, but are precluded from doing so by the difficulties they face obtaining insurance cover for Covid-19. The scheme will be available to compensate Film and TV productions after they have restarted, and where costs are then incurred due to delays or abandonment as a result of Coronavirus.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) the film sector and (b) other creative industries.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government recognises the huge contribution the film and wider creative industries sectors make, not only to the economy and international reputation of the United Kingdom, but also to the wellbeing and enrichment of its people.
Regarding the film sector specifically, the Government has worked alongside industry to quickly develop guidance allowing for the restart of production activity and has continued to support the sector in applying this guidance. In addition, in July 2020 the Government granted quarantine exemption for cast and crew of eligible film and high-end television productions, bespoke action which has helped ensure that significant inward investment projects have still been able to operate safely in the UK.
Since then, the Government has also announced the Film and TV Production Restart Scheme, a £500m scheme to help TV and film productions get back up and running across the country, despite a lack of available insurance for Covid-19 losses. It is a temporary scheme that will compensate eligible productions for costs incurred due to delays or abandonment of productions because of Covid-19.
As you will know, in March, the Government implemented an unprecedented package to support businesses, charitable organisations, workers and the self-employed through the Coronavirus crisis. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and business rates relief in particular are providing support to organisations across these sectors.
The extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was announced in May, which was extended to the end of July, with more flexibility being introduced from August to October.
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme has also been extended with applications opening in August for a second and final grant. The grant will operate in the same way as the existing scheme with self-employed workers eligible for a single payment covering three months, at a level of 70% of average monthly earnings up to a maximum of £6,570 (i.e. down from 80% and a maximum of £7,500).
The Secretary of State provided a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of cultural and creative sectors.
We are committed to continuing to work with the film and creatives industries sectors to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to ensure that the British Film Institute fulfils its responsibilities to support the Scottish film sector.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
My department continues to work closely with its Arm’s Length Body, the British Film Institute, to ensure it meets the full range of its responsibilities, including to support the film sector nationwide. In its ongoing support for the Scottish film sector, the Government has worked with the BFI to ensure a wide range of funding and initiatives are available across Scottish talent development, production and heritage. In addition, recent Covid-secure guidance has been developed with input from across the nations to support in safely producing films in Scotland. Screen Scotland have been part of the Screen Sector Taskforce looking at the impact of Covid and recovery measures for the sector, in collaboration with DCMS and BFI.
Examples of support that have been given to the Scottish film industry include the BFI Audience and Film Funds, which offer funding covering development, production, distribution and promotion, supporting Scottish films and Scottish audiences; and Film Hub Scotland, which receives an annual BFI Lottery award as part of the BFI Film Audience Network to increase and diversify Scottish audiences. In addition, young people in Scotland have access to the BFI Film Academy and Future Film offer, with four Scottish partners delivering short courses in 20/21 and a well-established annual Screen Craft Skills residential. Furthermore, Film City Futures and Glasgow Film were recently awarded £1m from the BFI and Screen Scotland to support new and emerging talent.
Finally, in recent years the BFI worked in partnership with the Scottish Screen Archive in the Unlocking Film Heritage programme, which resulted in substantial digitisation of films from and about Scotland.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made (1) of the difficulties in obtaining insurance cover faced by people working in the creative industries, and (2) of the effect that such difficulties may have on those people’s creative output; and what plans they have to support such people.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government has announced a £500m compensation scheme to assist the film and TV production sectors who are ready to return to work, but are precluded from doing so by the difficulties they face obtaining insurance cover for Covid-19.
The new UK-wide £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme will get TV and film productions across the country that have been halted or delayed specifically by a lack of insurance back up and running by giving productions the confidence they need that they will be supported if future losses are incurred due to Covid-19.
It will fill the gap left by the lack of available insurance and cover coronavirus-related losses for cast member and crew illnesses and filming delays or disruptions caused by the Covid-19. The scheme will directly support up to 40,000 - 50,000 jobs in the film and TV production industry.
A targeted intervention in the TV and film sector was considered necessary for its restart. The government will continue to monitor what further action is needed to support the re-opening of the economy and any potential further interventions would be assessed on a case by case basis. With regard to other creative industries, we are regularly in touch with a range of stakeholders from across the Creative Industries, including via ministerially-chaired roundtables, to ensure that we fully understand the range of issues affecting them during the Covid crisis and recovery period.
In terms of supporting the creative workforce, other recently announced sector-specific schemes include the £1.57bn funding package for the arts, culture and heritage industries, which comes on top of the multi-billion pound support already made available to the cultural and creative sectors, including the Job Retention Scheme and the Self Employed Income Support Scheme.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to support BAME–led television organisations during the COVID-19 economic recovery.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to supporting our fantastic screen industries, which include BAME-led television organisations, and to working together with industry to support greater diversity. We welcome the work Ofcom has undertaken through their annual diversity reports on broadcasting and we are working with the British Film Institute (BFI), in their role as the Government’s arm’s length body, to improve representation both on and off screen, including through supporting the wider adoption of the BFI’s Diversity Standards which apply to films, online and broadcast television content.
To date, as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic the Government has not provided bespoke support to any one group within the television industry. However, the Government has provided support to the sector as a whole, including the recently announced UK-wide £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme. This will help to get TV and film productions across the country that have been halted or delayed by a lack of insurance to get back up and running, by giving productions the confidence they need that they will be supported if future losses are incurred due to Covid-19. The scheme will directly support up to 40,000 - 50,000 jobs in the film and TV production industry.
Ministers have engaged with the broadcasting sector at regular roundtables to take into account challenges created by the pandemic, including impacts on diversity in broadcasting. We will continue these discussions to assess where Government can further support organisations as we move further into the recovery stage.
More broadly, the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most generous and comprehensive in the world, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and the Bounceback Loan Scheme and business rates reliefs. In addition, the Government has adapted the welfare system so that the self-employed can access Universal Credit in full, to help people get quicker and more generous support when they need it most.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason makeup artists have been allowed to resume work for films but not for weddings.
Answered by Paul Scully
The application of makeup of performers in productions for the film and TV industry is undertaken by a limited number of professionals working with the limited number of performers in that production for the duration of that production.
Make-up artists and other close contact commercial services work with whoever they have appointments with and the number of people, and hence different contacts, will far exceed the number on a production set.
We have worked closely with businesses and trade associations from the industry, as well as with medical experts, to determine both what is the highest risk zone and what services would fall within this zone. The National Hair & Beauty Federation, British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology, and British Beauty Council have been consulted and support this approach, as the safety of their staff and customers is paramount. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Public Health England have also signed off this approach.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why there are no representatives of the music industry on the Cultural Renewal Taskforce.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Cultural Renewal Taskforce has been established to support the renewal of DCMS sectors and to help the development of new COVID-19 secure guidelines for the reopening of places and businesses in these sectors, where and when it is safe to do so. The Taskforce is made up of individuals and organisations from across DCMS sectors, representing a broad range of views and backgrounds. The organisations vary not only by size and scale, but are also representative of organisations with sector interests across the country.
To support the Cultural Renewal Taskforce and the development of guidelines, DCMS has also set up eight sectoral Working Groups, which are ministerially led. Each Working Group has broad membership covering a range of relevant organisations and representative bodies for sectors.
The Entertainment and Events Working Group has numerous members from the music industry, including Association of British Orchestras, Association of Independent Festivals, Music Venue Trust and The Musicians Union. In addition, the membership of the Broadcasting, Film and Production working group also includes representation for the music industry from the Association of Independent Music, British Phonographic Industry, Music Producers Guild, and The Musicians Union.
As well as establishing these Working Groups, we continue to work with the music industry to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the economic effect of covid-19 guidance on self-employed make-up artists in the film and television industry.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
No assessment has been made. However, we appreciate that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many of DCMS’ sectors including the creative industries which is why the Government has announced unprecedented support for businesses and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency.
Government supported the publication last month of the British Film Commission’s guidance on working safely during Covid-19. This includes information for hair and make-up artists and will help productions restart, with associated economic benefits.
We are also pleased to see that the film and television industry have developed initiatives to support self-employed workers in these sectors to get back to work safely, in line with Covid-19 guidance. For example, ScreenSkills recently launched free ‘Coronavirus basic awareness on production’ training via their website, and the Film and TV Charity has established a package of support for workers in the industry including financial advice and the Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund.