Public sector activity
37. There are a number of public sector bodies involved
in the film sector. The Secretary of State told the Committee
that :
"the role of Government is to set the right
kind of regulatory environment and I think that through the structure
of tax incentives, we have been successful in doing that and attracting
substantial inward investment. The second, of course, is to make
the UK an attractive place for companies to come and make films.
So obviously understanding the skill and training needs of the
industry and using the apparatus of the Public Service, particularly
Learning and Skills Councils, the employer-led skills set, are
ways in which the industry can increase its sustainability, both
through recruitment of young people, training and securing the
necessary sort of technical resources in order to underpin the
viability of the industry … I think that there is a role
for my Department to allocate core funding to the UK Film Council."[45]
38. Within England, the DCMS has delegated most of
the responsibility for film to the UK Film Council, established
in 2000. The Council was an amalgamation of the Arts Council of
England's Lottery Film Department, the British Film Institute
(bfi), the British Film Commission, and British Screen
Finance and its associated companies.[46]
The UK Film Council received a grant-in-aid of £24.1 million
and £32.441 million of Lottery money in 2002-03.[47]
The core tasks of the UK Film Council are to create a sustainable
film industry in the UK and ensure film culture and education
are accessible to all.[48]
On a day-to-day basis, the UK Film Council has two main functions:
to develop UK film policy/strategy and to advise Government on
all film issues including policy implementation; and to administer
a total of £56.54 million of Lottery and Exchequer funding
to deliver specific objectives.[49]
39. The UK Film Council has created nine Regional
Screen Agencies across the English regions, with funding of £7.5
million per annum. Their role is to support local creative, industrial,
and educational activities, including the regional film archives,
but their records of achievement, so far, are variable. Screen
England, made up of the chief executives of the nine RSAs with
the UK Film Council, argues that the UK's most successful films
are often regionally based and that the RSAs have key roles in:
assisting productions; identifying individuals for 'fast-tracking'
into the national film arena; and, alongside DTI, DCMS and regional
government offices, stimulating growth in the regional screen
industries.
40. Through Skillset, the sector skills council for
the audio-visual industries — working with the UK Film Council
and the industry — the training needs of the sector are
being addressed for the first time with a strategy in September
2003.[50] This is a vital
area that many in the industry identified to the Committee as
in need of increased resources and future development.[51]
The principle elements of the training and development strategy
are outlined in full below.
41. As was identified above by the Secretary of State,
the Chancellor of the Exchequer has a pivotal role to play in
relation to the tax relief provided for the film industry in the
UK. Such relief is provided under Sections 40, 41 and 42 of the
Finance (No. 2) Act 1992 (collectively 'Section 42' relief) and
Section 48 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 1997.[52]
The former is a longstanding mechanism for attracting large budget
films (over £20 million) to the UK. Section 48 was the response
of the Chancellor to calls, including recommendations in a report
by the National Heritage Committee in 1995, for more support for
indigenous British films costing £15 million or less. This
mechanism included a 'sunset' clause with the accelerated relief
ending in 2005.
42. The Film Export Advisory Group was set up to
provide co-ordination and information to the British film industry
and Government on film-related export activity. Membership includes:
the British Council, Visiting Arts, PACT, Trade Partners UK (an
associated public body of the DTI — see below), the UK Film
Council (including the British Film Institute), Invest UK, AFMA
Europe (the representative association of the independent US film
sector), film sales companies and industry experts.[53]
43. British Trade International (BTI) was established
in May 1999 and coordinates the work of the Department of Trade
and Industry (DTI) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
on trade development and promotion of inward investment. BTI has
over 2,500 staff in over 200 posts overseas, in the UK (London
and Glasgow) and in the English Regions. It has two operating
arms, Trade Partners UK (TPUK) and Invest UK through which it
delivers its services.[54]
The film unit within BTI is working closely with the UK Film Council
and the Film Export Advisory Group to produce an export strategy
for film for the future. The Film Export Advisory Group report,
on how best to stimulate and support film exports, is due later
this year, 2003.[55]
Whether this structure works and is productive, is an issue that
the Committee may return to.
44. The British Council is involved in promoting
British films abroad as part of their wider cultural activities.
When Committee members visited the British Council we were told
that its primary role is to provide previews of British films
for the selectors from major film festivals around the world,
enabling them to find British films to include in the festivals.
Amongst other things, the Council is also involved in arranging
and promoting film premieres for British films all over the world,
either working with the local distributors or directly with the
film-makers.[56] The
Council also maintains an online directory covering the industry
and its output (referred to above — britfilms.com).
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