Select committee: Communications and Digital Committee
Conclusion 11
1st Report - Public service broadcasting: as vital as ever
Published 5 Nov 2019
Paragraph 116
Communications and Digital Committee Public service broadcasting in the age of video on demand inquiry All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
High-end TV Tax Relief has benefited the UK production sector and encouraged high levels of inward investment. However, there is a serious risk of the sector reaching full capacity and overheating. The health of the independent production sector depends on maintaining the supply of production crews to meet demand. The £1 million threshold for tax relief creates an incentive for productions with a budget over £800,000 to spend more to receive up to £200,000 in tax relief. This makes it less attractive to produce mid-budget drama, which is crucial to the development of skills in the production sector. High-end TV Tax Relief should be tapered in from £800,000 to remove the incentive to spend more to reach a cost of £1 million per hour.
From: Communications and Digital Committee, 1st Report - Public service broadcasting: as vital as ever, paragraph 116, 5 November 2019
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 18 February 2020.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government shares the Committee's view on the importance of public service broadcasting, while saying that broadcasters will need to adapt and that legislation and regulation will need to evolve.
- On the listed events regime, the Government "does not plan to review the list", saying it "strikes an appropriate balance". It has announced the Paralympic Games will be added to group A and will set out next steps on women's equivalents "in due course".
- On BBC funding, it "has no plans to introduce a Licence Fee Commission" and considers it "appropriate to determine the level of the licence fee in discussions with the BBC".
- On prominence, the Government "has committed to act on Ofcom's prominence recommendations and is exploring the potential for legislation", and will set out next steps "in due course".
- On a levy on video on-demand subscriptions, the Government agrees one "is not appropriate at this time" and has no plans to introduce one, but "will keep the situation under review".