§ 34. Mr. George Jegerasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about exhibitors' film quotas for the year beginning 1st October, 1951.
Mr. H. WilsonAfter consulting the Cinematograph Films Council, I do not propose to make any order this year to amend the Cinematograph Films (Quota) Order. This means that the prescribed quotas will remain at 30 per cent. for first feature films and 25 for supporting programmes for the 12 months period beginning October 1st, 1951.
§ Mr. JegerDoes not my right hon. Friend think that perhaps there could be an increase in this quota, in view of the great unemployment among actors, actresses and technicians in the film industry, and can he say whether he consulted with all sides of the industry before arriving at his decision?
Mr. WilsonI should very much like to have made an increase in this quota, and I am sure that the whole House would, but the size of the quota must depend on the number of films which are likely to be made, and I cannot accept the suggestion implicit in the remarks of 2572 my hon. Friend that an increased quota would increase production and employment. In answer to the latter part of his question, nearly all sections of the industry are represented on the Cinematograph Films Council.