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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the production of original UK content in film, television and radio.

The Government continues to incentivise the production of original content across film, television and radio. The Creative Industries is one of eight growth-driving sectors in our Industrial Strategy. Our ten-year Sector Plan, published in June, sets out over sixty commitments, with film and TV prioritised as a 'frontier industry' due to its high growth potential and strong connections across the wider economy.

The Sector Plan supports the screen sector, through a £75 million Screen Growth Package to fund original UK film and television content, helping independent British productions reach global audiences. This includes an £18 million per annum scale up of the UK Global Screen Fund supporting development, co-productions, and international distribution. We have also maintained a 40% reduction on business rates for eligible film studios in England until 2034, directly supporting world-class filming facilities across the country.

Our competitive tax reliefs across the audiovisual sector, including high-end TV, visual effects and independent British film, in addition to our generous support for studio infrastructure encourages production activity across the UK.

Our public service broadcasters, in particular, are all subject to original production quotas, which require them to make a minimum level (by hours) of original content, whether commissioned or produced, available on their respective services. Our reputation as a world-leader in film and television production coupled with the attractive fiscal incentives offered by the Government means we also continue to attract significant inward investment from global streaming services and studios.

The UK’s commercial radio sector has benefited from changes in the Media Act to reduce regulatory burdens on licensed stations and the introduction of new protections for the carriage of radio services on smart speaker platforms. We are exploring, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the scope to encourage further growth in the UK’s audio and podcast sector. We have recently commissioned a new study by Frontier Economics to assess the economic potential of the radio and podcasting sector. This research will be completed no later than summer 2026.