§ Nick HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many full-length feature502W films the Film Council has financially supported in each year since its creation; what the total income for each of those films is; what estimate the Film Council has made of each film's total audience; and if she will make a statement. [27754]
§ Dr. HowellsThe Film Council has directly or indirectly financially supported a total of 58 feature length films to date since its creation. Of these, 15 were directly funded from the Film Council Lottery funds which became operational in October 2000. The remainder were funded through the pre-existing Lottery film franchises or through the interim arrangements with the film production activities of its predecessor bodies—the Arts Council of England (through Lottery funding) and British Screen Ltd. (through grant in aid funding).
The total cash received by the Film Council to 31 December 2001 against the 58 titles is £2,091,739. A film is normally expected to generate income over several years and the income received to date against these titles is therefore only a small part of the expected return on investment.
The Film Council does not produce estimates of total audience for individual films. A film's earning potential spans a number of international markets or countries and a range of media platforms (including cinema, video, DVD, and television) and it is therefore unrealistic to attempt to estimate total audience.
§ Nick HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money the Film Council received from lottery funds in the last financial year; what amount the Film Council allocated in the last financial year; what amount the Film Council allocated and paid out in the last financial year; and if she will make a statement. [27753]
§ Dr. HowellsThe Film Council was allocated £31.474 million in income from the National Lottery Distribution Fund during the 2000–01 financial year. The Film Council allocated £33.82 million of lottery funding to projects and paid out £20.003 million in the same year.