Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

UK Film and TV Production

Thursday 10 February 2022 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The film and TV production restart scheme has supported 2.8 billion of production spend and over 92,000 jobs.
  • The Government's actions have helped the film and TV industry recover from the pandemic, with record success achieved last year.
  • Lucy Powell acknowledged the Secretary of State's absence but praised the support for public service broadcasting.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 John Whittingdale Con Maldon
Employment Brexit Business & Trade
Context

The MP welcomed the new Amazon Prime deal with Shepperton studios but questioned whether the government would extend the film and TV production restart scheme beyond its end date due to its success.

Question

I join my hon. Friend in welcoming the excellent news from Amazon Prime. Can she confirm that the film and TV production restart scheme, which was possible only as a result of Brexit, has so far supported production worth nearly £2.5 billion and supported 80,000 jobs? Given this success, will she consider extending the scheme beyond its end in April, and if that is not possible, will she try to obtain equivalent cover from commercial insurers at that time?

Answer from Julia Lopez

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out how successful the scheme has been. It has supported £2.8 billion of production spend and over 92,000 jobs, which means we have kept production going and had a fantastic year. As he knows, the scheme was established as a time-limited and short-term intervention in response to a market failure because of the pandemic. It will continue until 30 June, but in the meantime we are working very closely with industry stakeholders and insurers to make sure that there is an effective transition to market cover when that scheme closes to new applicants in April.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The government did not confirm whether they will extend the scheme or secure equivalent insurance coverage after its end date.

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Q2 John Whittingdale Con Maldon
Culture, Media & Sport
Context

The MP asked about the impact of Brexit on the film and TV industry, specifically mentioning the success of the production restart scheme.

Question

What steps she is taking to support film and TV production in the UK. My right hon. Friend may have seen the vote of confidence given by the new Amazon Prime deal with Shepperton studios this week. Our covid-related support includes the £500 million production restart scheme and the culture recovery fund, which my right hon. Friend will know has awarded £117,000 to Maldon's Rio cinema.

Answer from Julia Lopez

This Government's actions have helped the film and TV industry bounce back from the pandemic. Our production achieved record success last year, and my right hon. Friend may have seen the vote of confidence given by the new Amazon Prime deal with Shepperton studios this week. Our covid-related support includes the £500 million production restart scheme and the culture recovery fund, which my right hon. Friend will know has awarded £117,000 to Maldon's Rio cinema.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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Q3 Lucy Powell Labour (Co-op) Manchester Central
Economy Culture, Media & Sport Parliamentary Procedure
Context

The MP questioned the government's plans to sell off Channel 4 and end the BBC, given its statutory requirement for levelling up.

Question

I am not sure whether her own side would see that as a blessing or a curse, given that some of her recent performances have had—how shall we describe them—mixed reviews. Our public service broadcasters are responsible for two thirds of commissions outside London, and provide a pipeline of skilled and talented workers across our regions and nations. With programming that is sold around the world, they underpin our incredibly successful creative ecosystem. The levelling-up White Paper will soon impose a statutory requirement on the Government that their own policies will meet their new levelling-up missions. How will the Secretary of State square that with her plan to sell off Channel 4 and end the BBC as we know it? Will her plans to do so be evaluated against her Government's new legal requirements for levelling up?

Answer from Julia Lopez

I confirm that we miss the Secretary of State very much. She is flying the flag for the UK in the global Expo today, and we are all proud of the work she is doing there. I assure the hon. Lady that we very much support our public service broadcasting sector, and it has a huge role to play in levelling up the regions. We want to support that role going forward, and we have absolutely no intention to end the BBC. A decision has not yet been made about the sale of Channel 4, but if we looked at such a sale, we would very much look at commitments to the regions. We also do fantastic stuff on PSBs with apprenticeships, and those PSBs are creating jobs across the UK, which we very much want to keep going.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The government avoided confirming how they will comply with levelling-up obligations regarding their plans for public service broadcasting.

How: Misses The Secretary Of State, We Support Psbs

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