§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what proposals for action have been received from(a) the voluntary All-industry Fund, (b) the Film Marketing Agency and (c) the Skills Investment Fund in respect of the British film industry; [58488]
(2) if he will make a statement on the new training strategy for films as envisaged by the Film Policy Review Group. [58487]
§ Janet AndersonI regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall therefore write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of the House.
§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on support for the film industry in(a) Britain, (b) other member states of the European Union and (c) the United States of America. [60266]
§ Janet Anderson(a) My Department's support for the film industry in Britain is channelled through the British Film Institute, the British Film Commission, British Screen and the Arts Council of England. Following the results of my Department's Spending Review, we announced proposals to rationalise the delivery of public support to the film industry by the creation of a new film body, which would be able to take an overall strategic view of support for the film industry as a whole. We are currently holding discussions on the establishment of this new body.
The report of the Film Policy Review Group, A Bigger Picture, recommended a number of initiatives which would provide further support for the British film industry. Work on implementing those recommendations is underway and we expect the key elements to be in place by April next year.
(b) All the other member states of the European Union provide support for their film industries. Across the EU as a whole, there are around 54 aid measures distributing total 780W public support to the audio-visual industries of around £470 million a year. France accounts for 39 per cent. of this figure, Germany 20 per cent, the UK 6 per cent, Italy 6 per cent., Spain 4.5 per cent. and Ireland 4 per cent. Most of this support is directed to the production sector: currently on Germany and France provide significant amounts of support for the distribution and exhibition sectors, making up 24 per cent. and 20 per cent. of those countries' total public support respectively.
Generally, support across the EU is geared towards projects rather than companies, but each member state organises its public support mechanisms in a different way. For example, Germany's support is marked by its regional component, France has a centralised structure and Italy draws largely on a credit mechanism and bank guarantees.
(c) I am not aware of any public support for the commercial film industry in the United States of America, although some states offer tax exemptions for film to attract productions to their area. Film culture and education are supported in the United States at the federal level by the National Endowment for the Arts, which funded programmes in media arts of nearly $3.4 million in 1996. There is also some funding available at the state level for local film commissions, film festivals and study grants to film schools.