Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to incentivise the building of television and film studios in the (a) regions and (b) West Midlands.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are already incentivising film and TV production in the UK, with UK-wide funding programmes, infrastructure investment, competitive tax reliefs and direct support for independent British content.
The British Film Commission (BFC) is supporting the growth of the UK’s seven geographic production hubs to ensure that the combination of infrastructure, stage space and crew in those locations is set up to attract and accommodate even more major inward investment. Further funding for the BFC for 2025/26 was confirmed at the Autumn Budget.
Beyond the seven established hubs, there are many more areas across the UK brimming with potential and ambition which the Government will continue to support. In the West Midlands, Birmingham is becoming a very successful cultural hub enriched by recent investments including the BBC and Netflix at Digbeth Loc Studios. At the Autumn Budget, £25 million was confirmed for the new Crown Works Studio in Sunderland via the North East Combined Mayoral Authority.