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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the screen and creative industries in (a) Berkshire and (b) the UK.

Our creative industries showcase the best of our creativity and culture to the world and drive both regional and national growth. They employ over 2 million people, are worth over £124 billion to the UK economy and have seen GVA growth twice that of the national rate. We will ensure that the sector can continue to drive growth, boost opportunities and help people to fulfil their creative potential across the UK, including in Berkshire. Our support includes:

• almost doubling studio capacity through funding for the British Film Commission of £6million over four years, which includes support for Shinfield and Bray studios in Berkshire;
• expanding the global reach of independent content through the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund;
• the screen sector tax relief (for film, high-end TV, animation, children’s TV, and video games) which has supported over £9.5 million of production for over 1000 projects; and
• £13.4 million funding between 2022 and 2025 for the UK Games Fund to support independent video games studios and graduate talent.

We’re also supporting the next generation of indie films with the introduction of the Independent Film Tax Credit, which will allow eligible films to apply for tax reliefs of 53% on qualifying expenditure up to £15 million, creating jobs and growth.

Opportunities to drive growth exist across the whole of the UK and in places such as Berkshire, which has benefited from the £56 million Creative Industries Clusters programme. This funded the StoryFutures Cluster bringing together creative businesses and universities to provide a research platform to develop cutting edge technologies. We will be launching the next wave of the Clusters programme next year.

Finally, the British Film Institute has committed £34.2 million National Lottery funding over 2023-2026 for education and skills programmes. This includes £8.1 million to develop skills clusters, one of which has been set up in Berkshire, led by Resource Productions, the University of Reading, and Shinfield Studios.