Film Industry

Debate between Lisa Nandy and Peter Swallow

Wednesday 9th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

We have already held discussions with the film industry to talk about what more major studios can do to help to create the supply chain that supports initiatives like the fantastic work in my hon. Friend’s constituency. We absolutely commit as a new Government and as a ministerial team to engage fully with him to ensure that we unlock the true potential of the whole country and that we put rocket boosters under not just the existing infrastructure, but the new, exciting projects that are emerging across the country.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

There is cross-party support for Paddington and for Berkshire being the Hollywood of the UK. Last week, other Berkshire MPs and I visited Shinfield Studios, a new state-of-the-art film studio in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang). We heard there how important skills are to promoting further growth across Berkshire, so I welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment on skills today. Does she agree that getting the right support in place for skills is vital for ensuring growth for Berkshire’s film industry and vital for securing the chances for my constituents in Bracknell to access the great opportunities that this industry has to offer?

[Lisa Nandy]

Absolutely, and my hon. Friend is right that as well as the amazing investment that we are seeing flowing into the United Kingdom, which is opening up opportunities for good jobs and investment, we also need to make sure that people in every part of our country can benefit from those. I recently met Steven Knight from “Peaky Blinders”, who is running an incredible project in Birmingham: he is setting up a film studio and recruiting 20% of the local workforce from the five most deprived postcodes in Birmingham. He is doing that because not only is it the right thing to do, but it makes good business sense, because having a good, local, skilled workforce is a significant attraction for overseas investors when they choose where to invest. We think that we could draw on that model in other parts of the country, and I look forward to working with my hon. Friend to make sure that Berkshire feels the full benefit of that.