Fears over the future of the UK’s film and high-end TV inquiry have emerged due to the upcoming general election.
Culture, Media & Sport Committee (CMSC) chair Caroline Dinenage has written today to Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer urging the CMSC’s “successor committee” to keep up its work exploring the issues impacting the industry.
When a general election is called, committees such as the CMS are dissolved. Once a new government is in place, a different chair and group of cross-party MPs will be appointed to the new committee but it is under no obligation to continue the work of the previous one.
“We hope that the next government will continue to champion and support all facets of our screen industries,” wrote Dinenage. “Given the huge value that film and HETV contributes, and the deep questions that remain about its resilience, we strongly urge our successor committee to revisit the evidence we have received and continue scrutiny of this vital industry.”
The inquiry launched last summer and has heard evidence from the likes of former Amazon Europe boss Georgia Brown, Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha and the CEOs of Vue and Studiocanal, discussing issues ranging from cinemas to funding to the skills crisis.
Dinenage’s letter flagged the CMSC’s support for the landmark indie film tax credit, which has just been brought in. “This move, widely welcomed by the sector demonstrates the importance of parliament looking in depth at the needs of this sector at this time,” she added.
Dinenage said investment in the sector had “boomed” after the pandemic but “fell dramatically last year leaving studios empty, crews out of work and cinemas questioning how to programme their screens.”
The general election is taking place July 4 and lawmakers are currently rushing last-minute legislation through parliament, including the UK’s long-awaited Media Bill, which is expected to be sealed in the next few hours.