Culture: Art House Cinemas

Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall Excerpts

Monday 4th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, my noble friend is absolutely right. The picture houses are very important, particularly outside London; in particular in Cambridge, which of course is the venue for the Cambridge Film Festival. There are many reasons why these establishments are particularly important. They are part of our global reach, and all film industry is very important for the British economy. That, of course, is why the film industry has the tax relief it does, which is an indication of the Government’s support for it.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a regular patron of the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse. Will the noble Lord consider that perhaps the Government have more of an interest in this issue than he has yet indicated? These picture houses often show live performances of work—for example, from the National Theatre—which is a way in which the public funding that goes into our major theatres is made to work much harder than it would if it depended simply upon people coming into the theatres to see the shows. There is a serious interest here for the Government to consider, which is why it would be a good idea for them to put some pressure on whoever needs to have pressure put upon them to make this happen.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

The noble Baroness is a champion of Cambridge; I know that Bury St Edmunds in particular also has this feed-in from opera and theatre. I am well aware of the importance of that to many parts of the regions, where it is vital. I have to repeat that there is a procedure that has to be undertaken. Concerns have been raised and, as I said, it is open to interested parties to appeal on this matter. However, the problem is that when we have independence, we must mean independence.