§ 41. Mr. Swinglerasked the President of the Board of Trade what action he is taking to ensure adequate production of British films for the purpose of maintaining the first-feature and supporting programme quotas.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftThe purpose of screen quotas is to enable British films to obtain a fair showing, and thus to encourage their production. The Government also encourages British film production by assistance provided through the National Film Finance Corporation.
§ Mr. SwinglerWill the Minister say how it is possible to maintain adequate production of British films if the film studios are allowed to be sold out of the industry continuously? Is he not aware that within the last eighteen months half a dozen studios have been sold out of the industry and that now it is proposed to allow the world-famous Ealing Studios to be sold out of the industry? How is it possible to maintain British film production for cinemas if this process is allowed to go on?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftThat raises rather a different question, but I should hesitate for a long time before I compelled an industry to keep premises when the industry thought that they could be put to some other and more economic use.