§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria she uses to determine grants to the Film Council; and what proportion has been allocated to(a) independent film makers and (b) television shows and soap operas. [36923]
§ Dr. HowellsLevels of grant to the Film Council are determined by the Secretary of State, taking account of the overall level of allocation from the Treasury, departmental spending priorities and the Film Council's performance in meeting targets set out in its Funding Agreement. It is not within the Film Council's remit to provide funding for television programmes.
§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the amount was of each award made by the Film Council since 1 April 2000 to organisations in which members of the Board of the Film Council had an interest. [36965]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 25 February 2002]: The following list details the amount of each Lottery award made by the Film Council between 1 April 2000 to 31 December 2001 to organisations in which members of the Board of the Film Council have an interest.
1103W
Film council, Lottery awards to organisations in which board members had an interest since 1 April 20011 Board member/Applicant Date of award Name of project Amount of award (£) Fund Relevant interest WOW Prod & Trijbits Prod 18 May 2000 My Brother Tom (aka My Brother Rob) 359,989 Interim arrangement — Spectre Films Ltd. 26 September 2000 The Invasion 34,100 Interim arrangement — Feelgood Films 31 January 2001 Miranda (aka Carbon Miranda) 849,315 Premiere — Suspect Device 20 June 2001 Straightheads 8,500 Development (Co-development with Film Four Lab) Slat Films 15 August 2001 Once upon a time in the Midlands 690,000 New cinema Fund — Hot Property Ltd. 19 September 2000 Bodysong 350,000 New Cinema Fund — Total 4,281,718 1 To 31 December 2001 1104W1105W
Lottery awards made to the three pre-existing Lottery film franchises in which board members had an interest since 1 April 20001 Board member/Applicant Date of award Name of project Amount of award (£) Fund Relevant interest Duncan Kenworthy and James Lee DNA Films Ltd. 20 June 2001 28 Days Later 3,000,000 Franchise Directors DNA Films Ltd. 10 October 2001 Heartlands 1,430,000 DNA Films Ltd. 21 March 2000 The Parole Officer 2,000,000 Soft commitment made pre 1 April Sarah Radclyffe Pathé Pictures Ltd. 17 August 2000 A Romantic comedy about Divorce 38,750 Franchise Former Director. Directorship ceased on 25 April 2001 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 17 August 2000 Agent X 37,500 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 17 August 2000 Dead Sexy 45,000 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 28 November 2001 Drunken Monkey 10,250 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 27 July 2000 Feet Up 41,750 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 21 November 2001 Hawksmoor 36,670 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 18 May 2000 It was an Accident 99,850 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 30 August 2001 Max Hoffman 1,971,830 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 1 March 2000 Minister of Fund 47,950 Soft commitment made pre 1 April Pathé Pictures Ltd. 1 March 2000 Ode to Pandora 22,000 Soft commitment made pre 1 April Pathé Pictures Ltd. 27 July 2000 The Abduction Club 1,200,000 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 27 July 2000 The Alchemist 41,750 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 21 November 2001 The Blitz 90,734 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 6 April 2000 The Hole 1,500,000 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 14 September 2000 The Mighty Walzer 57,000 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 20 June 2001 The Mushroom Prince 20,900 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 4 July 2001 The Season 47,515 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 27 July 2000 The Wedding Gift 41,750 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 27 July 2000 There's Only One Jimmy Grimble 60,000 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 21 February 2001 Thunderpants 2,000,000 Soft commitment made pre 1 April Pathé Pictures Ltd. 21 November 2001 Thunderpants 53,867 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 5 December 2001 Tunnel Vision 36,500 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 8 January 2001 Ugly Streakers 2,500 Pathé Pictures Ltd. 17 August 2000 Waterloo Sunset 50,000 Chris Auty The Film consortium Ltd. 7 November 2001 24 Hour Party People 247,842 Franchise (UK TV licence owned by Film Four) The Film consortium Ltd. 26 September 2000 24 Hour Party People 2,000,000 (UK TV licence owned by Film Four) The Film consortium Ltd. 20 June 2001 A Passionate Woman 20,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 18 May 2000 Brian Jones Project 19,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 20 December 2000 Chameleon 6,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 3 October 2001 Charlies Noads—RIP 5,597 The Film consortium Ltd. 26 September 2000 Child of Air 11,500 Soft commitment made pre 1 April The Film consortium Ltd. 7 November 2001 Christmas Carol 425,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 3 October 2001 Dead Souls 6,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 28 March 2001 Dr. Sleep 8,500 The Film consortium Ltd. 28 March 2001 Dr. Sleep 1,375,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 26 September 2000 Dust 50,000 (UK TV licence owned by Film Four) The Film consortium Ltd. 7 March 2001 Dust 59,410 (UK TV licence owned by Film Four) The Film consortium Ltd. 26 September 2000 Fattypuffs and Thinifers 20,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 5 December 2001 Fourth Wall 30,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 7 November 2001 Gabriel and Me 101,243 The Film consortium Ltd. 26 September 2000 Haroun and the Sea of Stories 60,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 17 January 2001 Innocence 8,750 The Film consortium Ltd. 2 May 2001 Innocence 1,150,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 15 June 2000 Innocence 11,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 19 October 1999 Janice Beard 85,000 Soft commitment made pre 1 April The Film consortium Ltd. 26 September 2001 Large 80,000 (UK TV licence owned by Film Four) The Film consortium Ltd. 27 July 2000 Large 75,000 (UK TV licence owned by Film Four) The Film consortium Ltd. 20 December 2000 Large 50,000 (UK TV licence owned by Film Four) The Film consortium Ltd. 27 July 2000 Quiz Night 13,600 The Film consortium Ltd. 4 July 2001 Room to Rent 80,000 (UK TV licence owned by Film Four) The Film consortium Ltd. 14 September 2000 Seven Against the West 34,000
Lottery awards made to the three pre-existing Lottery film franchises in which board members had an interest since 1 April 20001 Board member/Applicant Date of award Name of project Amount of award (£) Fund Relevant interest The Film consortium Ltd. 2 May 2001 shame 10,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 6 April 2000 Streets Above Us 10,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 17 August 2000 The 51st State 2,000,000 The Film consortium Ltd. 1 March 2000 Transgressions 15,000 Soft commitment made pre 1 April The Film consortium Ltd. 20 December 2000 The Rose of Tralee 8,500 The Film consortium Ltd. 21 March 2001 Room to Rent 20,000 Total Franchises 22,095,008 (UK TV licence owned by Film Four) 1 To 31 December 2001 Notes:
1. This list includes sums provided to the three Lottery Film Franchises. The legal contracts committing the Franchise funds were signed in 1997–98 when the Lottery franchises were awarded by the Arts Council of England and are not new awards. The Franchisees are therefore contractually entitled to the funding irrespective of current Board membership.
2. Awards made to the Franchisees as soft commitments before 1 April 2000 are disclosed here as hard commitments. This disclosure follows the accounting treatment in the 2001 accounts.
3. Paul Webster is a Director of Film Four. Film Four acts as co-producer or co-funder on a number of projects also supported by the Film Council. However, the awards are made to third party organisations and any benefits accruing to Film Four will be derived from its own investment in the project and not through the Film Council. In the financial year 2000–01 the total amount of awards to such organisations was £4,468,072.
4. Other applications have been received from organisations in which Board members have an interest which are either pending a decision or have already been rejected.
§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the practice of the Film Council in relation to awards to organisations in which members of the board of the Film Council had an interest. [36967]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 25 February 2002]: Evaluation of lottery funding applications has been delegated by the Film Council board through the Chief Executive Officer, as Accounting Officer, to fund or scheme managers. This ensures that members of the board do not participate in the discussion or determination of individual awards whether or not individual board members hold an interest in the application.
§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the awards made by the Film Council since 1 April 2000 to organisations in which members of the board of the Film Council had an interest. [36966]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 25 February 2002]: The Film Council acknowledges that with a board which includes industry practitioners, there will be occasions when board members or organisations employing board members will apply for Film Council funding. The procedures adopted by the council for handling potential conflicts of interest provide that board members do not exert any influence in the determination of applications for lottery awards.
§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of the awards made by the Film Council since 1 April 2000 were made to organisations in which members of the board of the Film Council had an interest. [36964]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 25 February 2002]: The proportion of new awards made to organisations in which board members have an interest, since 1 April 2000, and where no pre-existing commitments exist, is 9 per cent. However, awards honoured since 1 April 2000, including prior contractual commitments inherited by the Film Council from the Arts Council of England in respect of the three lottery film franchises, increased the proportion to 55 per cent.
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§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been paid in awards by the Film Council since 1 April 2000. [36849]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 25 February 2002]: Between 1 April 2000 and 31 December 2001 the Film Council committed new lottery awards for projects to a total of £47.6 million.
§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will publish the dates of the meetings of the board of the Film Council since 1 April 2000, stating for each meeting the(a) members of the board present and (b) awards agreed on. [36848]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 25 February 2002]: The following list sets out the dates of Film Council board meetings and the members of the board present for each. Minutes of the meetings are publicly available on request or through the library of the British Film Institute. Lottery awards are made outside of Film Council board meetings by fund or scheme managers.
Film Council board meetings: dates and attendees—April 2000 to present.
1107WSir Alan Parker is the chairman of the Film Council.Board members are:
- Stewart Till (Deputy chair)
- Dawn Airey
- Joan Bakewell CBE
- Charles Denton
- James Lee
- Colin Leventhal
- Parminder Vir
- lain Smith
- Chris Auty
- Tim Bevan
- John Hill
- Duncan Kenworthy OBE
- Sarah Radclyffe
- Paul Webster
18 April 2000
Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, John Hill, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Stewart Till, Paul Webster.30 May 2000
Attendees: Alan Parker, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Sarah Radclyffe, kin Smith, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.There was no meeting in June 2000.
25 July 2000
Attendees: Alan Parker, Dawn Airey, Joan Bakewell, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Sarah Radclyffe, lain Smith, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.22 August 2000
Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, James Lee, Sarah Radclyffe, lain Smith, Paul Webster.26 September 2000
Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, James Lee, Coin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.31 October 2000
Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Duncan Kenworthy, Sarah Radclyffe, lain Smith, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.28 November 2000
Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Tim Bevan, John Hill, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Duncan Kenworthy, Sarah Radclyffe, lain Smith, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir.19 December 2000
Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.30 January 2001
Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Duncan Kenworthy, Sarah Radclyffe, lain Smith, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.27 February 2001
Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Charles Denton, John Hill, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Duncan Kenworthy, lain Smith, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.27 March 2001
Attendees: Stewart Till, Chris Auty, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, lain Smith, Parminder Vir.24 April 2001
Attendees: Alan Parker, Dawn Airey, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Sarah Radclyffe, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir.
There was no meeting in May 2001.26 June 2001
Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Sarah Radclyffe, Jain Smith, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.31 July 2001
Attendees: Stewart Till, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Sarah Radclyffe, lain Smith, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.There was no meeting in August 2001.
1108W25 September 2001
Attendees: Stewart Till, Dawn Airey, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, lain Smith, Parminder Vir.30 October 2001
Attendees: Stewart Till, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Charles Denton, John Hill, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, lain Smith, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.27 November 2001
Attendees: Stewart Till, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, kin Smith, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.19 December 2001
Attendees: Stewart Till, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, lain Smith, Parminder Vir.
§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the steps taken by the Film Council to ensure that no conflict of interest existed when decisions to make awards to organisations in which members of the board of the Film Council had an interest were taken. [36968]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 25 February 2002]: Decisions on Lottery funding applications have been delegated to individual fund or scheme managers. This ensures that members of the board do not participate in the discussion or determination of matters in which they might have a direct interest. There is an onus on both the board member and on the Film Council to identify at an early stage any new interest a board member, their spouse or close family member or any person with whom they have a close personal relationship, whether or not living in the same household, has in projects or in activities resulting in an application to the Film Council for funding. A register of board members' interests is maintained and is updated annually.