The UK’s Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) committee’s inquiry into the territory’s film and high-end TV (HETV) sector has been paused indefinitely in light of the upcoming general election.
As is the case with most parliamentary committees, it was dissolved on May 30 following the announcement of the general election by prime minister Rishi Sunak and the dissolution of parliament.
The UK general election will take place on July 4.
The committee will be re-assembled with new members at the start of the next parliament who will decide whether to continue on with the inquiry.
The existing committee did not reach the stage of publishing a report with its findings, and therefore all the transcripts of the oral sessions and written evidence will be available for the next iteration of the committee.
Global hub
In July 2023, the inquiry was launched to look at what can be done to maintain the UK’s status as a global hub for international production and how independent producers and the struggling exhibition sector can best be supported.
The film and TV industries have been faced with an onslaught of challenges amid a tough economic climate and Hollywood strikes grinding UK production to a halt. A total of 130 individuals and companies submitted written evidence, and the likes of Picturehouse’s Clare Binns, Vue’s Tim Richards, directors Gurinder Chadha and James Hawes, producers Jane Tranter and Rebecca O’Brien, BBC Film and Film4 heads Eva Yates and Ollie Madden, Pact’s John McVay, UK Cinema Association’s Phil Clapp and Film Distributors’ Association’s Andy Leyshon giving oral evidence before the committee.
Major talking points in both the written evidence and the oral sessions included the skills crisis, artificial intelligence and the need for an enhanced tax relief for lower-budgeted UK film productions. In March, Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC) was introduced.
A final letter from the committee’s chair, Conservative MP Caroline Dinenage, was issued on May 24, two days after the general election was called. It was addressed to the current secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Lucy Frazer, urging the inquiry’s work to-date to be revisited.
It said: “Investment boomed after the pandemic, but fell dramatically last year leaving studios empty, crews out of work and cinemas questioning how to programme their screens. We have heard that these challenges could have been mitigated if the UK had a stronger domestic, independent sector and was less reliant on inward production. We believe this warrants further investigation.
“We are also deeply concerned about skills, working conditions, and the retention of staff in the industry. More work is needed to get to grip with these issues, as a failure to do so now will harm our ability to attract and staff productions in the future.”
The letter, published in full below, continued: “We hope that the next Government will continue to champion and support all facets of our screen industries. Given the huge value that film and HETV contributes, and the deep questions that remain about its resilience, we strongly urge our successor Committee to revisit the evidence we have received and continue scrutiny of this vital industry.”
Committees are made up of back-bench MPs, with the membership of the committees reflecting the party balance in the House of Commons. Members are chosen by MPs from their own parties. The allocation of UK parliamentary committee chairs reflects the party balance in the House of Commons as a whole. Once each party has been allotted which committees it will chair, the chairs will, in most cases, be elected by MPs from across the whole House.
Read Caroline Dinenage’s letter to secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Lucy Frazer in full:
Dear Lucy
The film and high-end TV industry is one of the UK’s economic and cultural success stories, globally recognised and respected. Yet it faces considerable uncertainty.
Investment boomed after the pandemic, but fell dramatically last year leaving studios empty, crews out of work and cinemas questioning how to programme their screens. We have heard that these challenges could have been mitigated if the UK had a stronger domestic, independent sector and was less reliant on inward production. We believe this warrants further investigation.
We are also deeply concerned about skills, working conditions, and the retention of staff in the industry. More work is needed to get to grip with these issues, as a failure to do so now will harm our ability to attract and staff productions in the future.
We launched our inquiry last July in the midst of these challenges and have since received extensive engagement from the sector. Our early recommendation for an independent film tax credit helped to see it be delivered in March this year This move, widely welcomed by the sector demonstrates the importance of Parliament looking in depth at the needs of this sector at this time.
We are grateful to all those who have submitted written and oral evidence, and spoken to us during the roundtables and visits detailed at the end of this letter. We are also grateful to Nick Mason Pearson and Dr Dominic Lees who served as specialist advisors to the inquiry.
We hope that the next Government will continue to champion and support all facets of our screen industries. Given the huge value that film and HETV contributes, and the deep questions that remain about its resilience, we strongly urge our successor Committee to revisit the evidence we have received and continue scrutiny of this vital industry.
Yours sincerely,
Caroline Dinenage
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