Autumn Statement 2023

Baroness Featherstone Excerpts

Wednesday 29th November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Featherstone (LD)]

My Lords, I welcome the Minister to her place on the Treasury Bench. I will speak on the creative industries.

The big players in the film industry are breathing a sigh of relief, having seen off the threatened restrictions on tax credit relief for commercial party transactions. They also welcome the announcement of the launch of a new consultation that could see tax relief expanded to cover expenditure on visual effects. All I say on that is, “Please hurry up”. It was good to have clarified which documentaries qualify for credit; that will now be judged by the same guidance the BFI uses.

However, as BECTU made clear in its commentary on the Autumn Statement, sectors of the industry such as opera, theatres, independent film production and live events needed a lot more than a promise of further reviews. So, may I ask the Minister about the independents—the lower-budget films? Where was the offer for them? They needed a rise in tax relief to 40%.

As I hope this House knows, the creative industries are outstripping all other growth industries. I laid out the case here in November 2021 in the Liberal Democrat debate on the creative industries, asking for them to be a growth priority because at that point, the Prime Minister had left them out of his five-point plan. Then the Communications and Digital Committee, ably chaired by the noble Baroness, Lady Stowell of Beeston, made the same case in its report, At Risk: Our Creative Future. Only then did the PM finally make this one of his five priorities for growth—but that was not reflected in the Autumn Statement. So many in the industries that make up this creative powerhouse hoped and expected more, and deserved so much more.

Tax reliefs are a proven road to putting a rocket under an industry’s capability to attract investment to this country and to boost exports. So, where were tax reliefs for the fashion industry; for publishing, where tax relief would incentivise UK production of published works; for live events, where the UK would increase its share of the market and grow skilled jobs throughout the UK; and for music production, where tax relief would incentivise the creation of new music and attract inward investment? Clarity on theatre tax relief is welcome, but why was it not made indefinite? There was also no word about museums and galleries tax relief being made permanent.

Moving from tax relief to national insurance, the Writers’ Guild acknowledges that its self-employed members will benefit from getting rid of class 2 national insurance, and from the reduction by 1% of class 4. There is a “thank you” for the changes on that, but not a big “thank you”, as it called the measures

“small crumbs of comfort when taken against the bigger picture”.

Equity’s general secretary, Paul Fleming, said:

“The Chancellor is taking the same approach to the performing arts and entertainment that has seen billions in public funding for the arts cut … The self-employed are being shortchanged by a headline-grabbing tax cut. Our self-employed members want investment to fix the holes in the social security system and public services”.


I was a designer and illustrator long ago and far away in another life, and late payment can force you out of business. When you are already living hand to mouth, even 30 days is a long time to wait for payment, let alone the liberties that big companies in particular take, with frequent waits of 90 days or more. Promising 30 days in the coming years is a promise of virtually nothing. The music industry was pretty unimpressed. Its whacking £5.8 billion contribution to the UK economy before Covid was phenomenal, but the repercussions of the lack of forethought by this Government during the Brexit process were a double whammy. The Association of Independent Festivals was disappointed that the reduction to 5% VAT on ticket sales, which the live sector desperately needs as a way to revive its post-Covid fortunes, did not materialise. As for the manifesto promise of an art premium, I must have blinked: I missed it.

We needed an Autumn Statement that respects, capitalises on and believes in the creative sector, that supports and encourages our broadcast companies, recognising their irreplaceable value as the second-largest exporter of television programmes and formats in the world. We needed a Statement that understands the BBC and supports it, rather than undermining it and continually diminishing its budget and status. I found it shocking to read that “Newsnight” is to be diminished, because trust in our democracy is already diminishing at a terrifying rate.

We needed a Statement that recognises that tax reliefs support and encourage an ecosystem that supports new and emerging talent as well as the big financial successes, and that supports freelancers, sole traders, part-timers and those with a portfolio of roles. Those are the roles that people the creative industries, and the NI changes simply do not go anywhere to support that industry. We needed an Autumn Statement that ensured that the tax and welfare system supported those freelancers to survive, thrive and earn well; that promoted the value of live events and music, small and public venues, regional theatres, local halls and festivals across the country; that addressed the real challenges that orchestras and touring are having, and gave the assurance that the 50% tax relief will remain beyond 2025.

The Publishers Association was disappointed that the Government missed the chance to axe VAT on reading and publishing once and for all by zero-rating audiobooks and article processing charges for open-access publishing. I declare an interest in ALCS, in that I get about £20 a year from it. If my book had sold more, maybe I would do better. If noble Lords are interested, it is called Equal Ever After and is about how I did same-sex marriage. I know David Cameron says it was him, but it was me who started it. ALCS had hoped and needed an increase in the public lending rights that provide such vital income for authors, ensuring that financial support reaches beyond just the bestsellers. While we welcome the extension of the 75% business rate discount for all music spaces, I probe the Minister further to clarify whether this extension applies to music studios, which are having a particularly bad time. We needed commitments to research and development and to an additional capital budget for historic buildings affected by that crumbly concrete, RAAC.

I am indebted to Creative UK, whose briefing I have used extensively this evening. The Autumn Statement I have described is the sort of Autumn Statement that our creative industries deserve.