Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding she plans to provide for local cinemas in the next 12 months.

We are very proud to be delivering a significant package of funding for arts and cultural organisations. I understand the disappointment that funding for independent cinemas was not included in that announcement, though we have no current plans to extend that funding further. We are still operating within a challenging fiscal climate, and across government we have had to make very difficult decisions about where to direct available funding.

In recognition of the challenges that continue to face cinemas across the country, we have introduced permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible cinemas, which will support the independent cinema sector. We will also continue to stimulate production in order to create a strong slate of films that will support our cinemas to thrive; we are doing this through generous tax incentives, investing in production support services, and delivering our £75 million Screen Growth Package under the Creative Industries Sector Plan. And the British Film Institute, as a DCMS Arm’s Length Body, will continue to support cinemas through the Film Audience Network, a network of more than 1800 cinemas and exhibitors, led by ‘Film Hubs’ across the UK.

My department will continue to work closely with the BFI, UK Cinema Association, and the wider sector to identify further ways to support this industry, and to ensure that cinemas can continue to make culture accessible to every person across the UK.