Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to work with local authorities to enforce noise curfews during fireworks.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Existing legislation already controls the sale, availability, and use of fireworks. For example, there is an 11pm curfew in place for the use of fireworks, with later exceptions only for the traditional firework periods. Using fireworks outside the curfew hours is a criminal offence, enforced by the police, and can lead to imprisonment and a substantial fine. Local authorities are also responsible for investigating any noise or nuisance issues brought to their attention under the Environmental Protection Act.
It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy these powers, based on their specific circumstances.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether financial support is available for firms looking to invest in the creative industries within the UK.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Creative Industries Tax Reliefs and Expenditure Credits have been highly effective in attracting investment into the UK creative industries, especially for feature film, high end television (HETV), video games and animation. The British Film Institute reported that inward investment into Film and HETV production in 2023 totalled £3.1 billion, representing 74 per cent of UK production expenditure.
The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) are available for those looking to invest in start-up and scale-up creative industries businesses offering tax reliefs to individual investors.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to attract foreign direct investment into the UK’s creative industries.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has dedicated resource within its Creative Industries team in the UK and in key markets across the world, focused on developing and delivering foreign direct investment and promoting the UK creative sector and the investment opportunity for international businesses. DBT works closely with the Office for Investment on major investment projects linked to the creative industries.
We provide support through the British Film Commission to grow high-end TV inward investment. We promote the UK as a destination for foreign direct investment through targeted inward delegations to the UK and engagement with potential investors at key international creative industries trade shows working closely with external partners, such as the British Film Commission, the UK Interactive Entertainment Association and Innovate UK.
DBT will support the upcoming Investment Summit to promote the opportunity represented by our world class creative sector.