§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what revenue was generated by the exports of(a) animated films and (b) all films produced in the UK in the last year for which figures are available. [105046]
§ Janet AndersonReceipts from abroad to film companies in the UK totalled £581 million in 1998. This figure relates to all films and is not broken down by genre. Separate figures for animated films are not therefore available.
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what is his estimate of the number of animated films to be made in the United Kingdom in 2000; [105092]
(2) how many animated films were made in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years; [105093]
(3) how many people are employed in the animated film industry. [105044]
§ Janet AndersonThis information is not available. However, production spend on animation in the UK is around £200 million annually, which supports some 350 independent companies. These range in size from one or two-person outfits creating small-scale experimental works, to large set ups producing multi-episode series for major broadcasters such as Channel 4, BBC and Granada. Animated product is provided across the whole spectrum of the audiovisual industries in the UK, from 343W commercials, television, feature films and corporate videos to the new industries dealing with websites and computer games.
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what grants are available to support the production of animated films; [105090]
(2) what support his Department gives to the animated film industry. [105091]
§ Janet AndersonPublic funds for the support of the film industry, including film production will, from 1 April, be channelled through the Film Council. This support will comprise grant-in-aid from my Department and a dedicated percentage of National Lottery proceeds. Over the next three years the Film Council will have about £150 million at its disposal to support the film industry and film culture. It will be for the Council itself to determine the appropriate form and level of support for animation, within its overall strategy for developing a sustainable UK film industry.
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of likely growth in the production of films in the UK in the next five years. [105045]
§ Janet AndersonMy Department does not make forecasts of film production levels. The past decade has seen considerable fluctuation in the numbers of films produced in the UK, from a low of 47 in 1992 to a high of 128 in 1996. The first five years of the decade saw a total of 317 productions with the last five years totalling 479. With the policies we have been implementing over the past three years to build on and sustain this upward trend I fully expect the current levels of film production activity to at least be maintained over the next five years.