§ 10. Mr. Boyd-Carpenterasked the President of the Board of Trade how much public money he anticipates will be spent this year by the National Film Finance Corporation; and what steps he is taking to secure that this money is spent in accordance with the public interest.
§ Mr. J. P. W. MallalieuThe Corporation expects that its advances during the year ending 31st March, 1967, will amount to approximately £800,000. The purposes for which the loans are made are laid down in the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Acts.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterDoes the detachment which the Minister of State showed on the previous Question extend to the production of a film which shows up the evils of State Socialism, or is it only the Armed Forces which can be defamed at the expense of public funds?
§ Mr. MallalieuI must repeat that the Armed Forces were not defamed in that film, except for the propensity of the actors who were playing soldiers to expose themselves on the skyline occasionally.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterLike Ministers.
§ Mr. MallalieuGenerally speaking, we must leave it to the discretion of the National Film Finance Corporation to decide what films it supports.
§ Captain OrrCan the hon. Gentleman say whether, in allocating its finance, the National Film Finance Corporation takes into account the Report of the Monopolies Commission on the industry by, for example, attaching conditions to any of the loans which it makes?
§ Mr. MallalieuThe Corporation has a general condition that, in its judgment, films for which public money is offered should have a reasonable chance of being a commercial success.