Select Committee · Culture, Media and Sport Committee

British film and high-end television 2

Status: Closed Opened: 31 Oct 2024 Closed: 15 Jul 2025 37 recommendations 31 conclusions 1 report

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is to continue work from the last Parliament examining the challenges faced by the British film and high-end television industry and how the sector and its workforce can be better supported. Previous Committee inquiry: British film & high-end tv The new inquiry will build on the successes of the … Show more

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
First Report - British film and high-end television HC 328 10 Apr 2025 68 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

12 items
1 Conclusion First Report - British film and high-en… Acknowledged

Independent Film Tax Credit alone insufficient to address all British film sector challenges.

The Independent Film Tax Credit is a game-changer for domestic production and a welcome sign of continued Government commitment to the sector. But it is not a silver bullet for all the problems facing independent British film. Without further intervention, producers will still struggle to develop and raise finance for … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the vital contribution of the film and HETV industry and its commitment to its growth. It highlights competitive tax incentives, business rates relief, and new measures from the Creative Industries Sector Plan to support the sector's growth, including tackling finance barriers and …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
13 Conclusion First Report - British film and high-en… Acknowledged

Unfair dynamic between SVoDs and independent producers threatens HETV IP and sustainability

The success of the UK’s HETV sector relies on continuing to attract inward investment while maintaining a vibrant domestic industry underpinned by strong intellectual property rights. Yet the dynamic between independent producers and subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) platforms is not sustainable, and successful production companies are being gutted by deals that … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government is committed to strengthening the domestic sector and recognizes the challenges around IP retention for independent producers in deals with SVoD platforms. It will build on the Media Act and Ofcom’s Public Service Media review and use the Industrial Strategy to improve investment …
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
14 Recommendation First Report - British film and high-en… Acknowledged

Commission research on applying regulatory measures to SVoD platforms for IP ownership

We recommend the Government immediately commissions research on how regulatory measures, akin to the PSB terms of trade, could be applied to SVoD platforms to ensure that independent production companies developing IP in the UK maintain a minimum level of ownership over those rights. (Recommendation, Paragraph 56) Read more

Government response AI summary
The government commits to supporting the domestic sector and culturally relevant UK content, and will build on the Media Act and Ofcom's review to support public service media, but does not commit to immediately commissioning research on applying PSB terms of trade to SVoD platforms.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
15 Conclusion First Report - British film and high-en… Acknowledged

Streamers' practices threaten HETV balance, demanding increased support for British content

In HETV, the balance between inward investment and domestic production is at a tipping point. It is time for streamers to put their money where their mouth is. They laud the UK’s mixed production ecology, with public service broadcasters and independent producers at its heart, but their business practices are … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government commits to supporting the domestic sector and culturally relevant UK content, and will build on the Media Act and Ofcom's review to support public service media, but does not propose specific action to compel streamers to increase their support.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
17 Conclusion First Report - British film and high-en… Acknowledged

HETV advertising revenue faces market shifts with growing SVoD ad-supported tiers

Advertising revenue is key to the HETV production ecosystem, and the market is changing as SVoD platforms grow their ad-supported subscription tiers. We intend to revisit the issue of advertising and its role in the TV ecosystem later in the Parliament. (Conclusion, Paragraph 64) Incentivising inward investment Read more

Government response AI summary
Acknowledges advertising revenue is key and intends to revisit the issue later in the Parliament.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
20 Conclusion First Report - British film and high-en… Acknowledged

Audio-Visual Expenditure Credits may undermine investment attraction for wider industry practices.

We are not convinced that Audio-Visual Expenditure Credits are the best vehicle to incentivise wider industry practices, if doing so undermines the fundamental aim of attracting investment. (Conclusion, Paragraph 76)

Government response AI summary
The government implicitly acknowledges the committee's concern by highlighting its commitment to keeping AVEC competitive through additional support for independent films and VFX uplift, and continuing to work with stakeholders to ensure its effectiveness in attracting investment.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
26 Recommendation First Report - British film and high-en… Acknowledged

UK film and HETV industry remains exposed to global investment market forces.

It is tempting to see 2023’s inward investment crisis as a blip, but while the UK remains so exposed to US investment global political and market forces will continue to affect our film and HETV industry. Our recommendations to support domestic production should help ride out future storms, but the … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the importance of avoiding complacency to maintain the UK's international position in the film and HETV industry and commits to remaining a strong global partner and destination for inward investment.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
27 Conclusion First Report - British film and high-en… Acknowledged

World-class skilled workforce drives the British film and HETV industry's global success.

From our world-class actors, writers, composers and directors to our highly skilled VFX artists and dedicated, hair and make-up professionals, costume designers and technical crew members, the people that make, distribute and exhibit British films and HETV programmes are a key reason the industry is a global success story. (Conclusion, … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government welcomes the report and fully supports the fundamental tenets that the UK film and HETV industry makes a vital contribution, agreeing that the people involved, across production, distribution, and exhibition, are key to its global success and require active support.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
28 Conclusion First Report - British film and high-en… Acknowledged

Film and HETV industry too slow responding to critical skills shortages.

The film and HETV industry has been too slow to respond to skills shortages. That has had serious consequences for those working in it, and for the ability of domestic productions to afford to pay crews and creatives. Countless reviews, reports, strategies and plans for tackling this crisis have been … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the importance of data for a coherent skills strategy, viewing it as an industry-led effort, and explicitly states it does not support a statutory intervention across the industry.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
31 Conclusion First Report - British film and high-en… Acknowledged

Film and HETV industry lacks transparency on training spending and relies on unreliable contributions.

Given how important skills are to the film and HETV industry, we are surprised that major streamers and studios could not give us a straight answer on how much they spend on training. The companies either don’t know how much they are spending or have something to hide. Either way, … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government agrees that data on industry investment in skills and training is vital for a coherent strategy, but believes this should be an industry-led effort and does not support a statutory intervention.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
56 Conclusion First Report - British film and high-en… Acknowledged

Generative AI technologies threaten earnings and employment for film and HETV creatives

Our world-class creatives are the lifeblood of the UK’s film and HETV sectors. However, the rapid growth of generative AI technologies threatens their earnings and future employment opportunities. This is not just an issue for one part of the industry: it about real lives and livelihoods, and the impact will … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government keeps legal frameworks under review, noting updates in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and a commitment to publishing a report on copyright and AI training, while also undertaking further analysis on ratifying the Beijing Treaty.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
57 Conclusion First Report - British film and high-en… Acknowledged

Current legislation fails to protect performers from nefarious generative AI use across creative industries

Although the film and HETV industry may be motivated to protect performers’ interests, with the history of collective bargaining agreements equipping it do so, that situation is not common across all the creative industries. The UK’s patchwork of copyright, intellectual property and data protection legislation is failing to protect performers … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government keeps legal frameworks, including copyright and data protection, under review, noting updates in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and a committed report on AI training, alongside further analysis on ratifying the Beijing Treaty.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Oral evidence sessions

3 sessions
Date Witnesses
28 Jan 2025 Alastair Jones · Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Ben Roberts · British Film Institute (BFI), Jay Hunt OBE · British Film Institute (BFI), Sir Chris Bryant MP · Department for Culture, Media and Sport View ↗
7 Jan 2025 Jane Featherstone · Sister View ↗
11 Dec 2024 Benjamin Field · Deep Fusion Films, Dr Mathilde Pavis, Ed Newton-Rex · Fairly Trained, Liam Budd · Equity, Martin Adams · Metaphysic, Nick Lynes · Flawless View ↗

Who gave evidence

11 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Alastair Jones · Deputy Director, Creative Industries Department for Culture, Media and Sport 1
Ben Roberts · Chief Executive British Film Institute (BFI) 1
Benjamin Field · Executive Producer Deep Fusion Films 1
Dr Mathilde Pavis 1
Ed Newton-Rex · Chief Executive Fairly Trained 1
Jane Featherstone · Founder and Chief Creative Officer Sister 1
Jay Hunt OBE · Chair British Film Institute (BFI) 1
Liam Budd · Industrial Official for Recorded Media Equity 1
Martin Adams · Co-founder Metaphysic 1
Nick Lynes · Co-Chief Executive Flawless 1
Sir Chris Bryant MP · Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism Department for Culture, Media and Sport 1

Correspondence

6 letters
DateDirectionTitle
24 Jan 2025 To cttee Letter from Mitchell Simmons, Vice-President, Public Policy and Government Affa…
24 Jan 2025 To cttee Letter from Benjamin King, Senior Director of Public Policy, UK and Ireland, Ne…
24 Jan 2025 To cttee Letter from Gidon Freeman, Senior Vice-President, Government and Regulatory Aff…
24 Jan 2025 To cttee Letter from Monica Ariño, Director of Public Policy, Amazon, regarding on skill…
24 Jan 2025 To cttee Letter from Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair, Culture, Media and Sport Committe…
31 Oct 2024 To cttee Letter from Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Spo…