Support for theatre and film 'is game-changing'

The British film and theatre industries have welcomed "game-changing" support announced for the creative industries in the Budget.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled tax breaks for independent British films, and for film and TV studios in England.

He also confirmed new permanent rates of tax relief for theatres, orchestras, museums and galleries.

Director Sir Sam Mendes said the new theatre rate was "fundamental" to his company's ability to make productions.

Composer and producer Andrew Lloyd Webber welcomed it as a "once-in-a-generation transformational change that will ensure Britain remains the global capital of creativity".

The new permanent rate covering theatres, museums and galleries - 45% for touring productions and 40% for non-touring shows - is below the current rates of 50%/45%, but well above the pre-pandemic rates of 25%/20%, which had been due to come back in over the next two years.

Meanwhile, Ben Roberts, chief executive of the British Film Institute (BFI), said the relief for British movies with budgets under £15m was "the most significant policy intervention since the 1990s" and "a dramatic moment for UK film".

Mr Hunt told the House of Commons that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had personally requested extra support for such productions.

In a statement supplied by the BFI, James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli said: "The support for independent film-making announced by the prime minister and chancellor today is game changing."

In recent months, members of the British film industry had warned that independent film-making was in crisis.

Meanwhile, in a bid to promote investment in new film studios, Mr Hunt announced a 40% relief for eligible locations in England until 2034.

The Budget also included funding for a major TV and film studio complex in Sunderland through a devolution package for the north-east of England.

Crown Works Studios is expected to create more than 8,000 jobs in the region and generate £336m a year for the local economy, its operators said.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Hunt also said £26m of funding would be provided to "our pre-eminent theatre", the National Theatre in London, to upgrade its stages and infrastructure.

It is the largest government investment in the theatre's history, and its director Rufus Norris said he was "immensely grateful for the landmark investment".

He added that it was a "huge boost to the future vitality of British theatre".

The Association of British Orchestras welcomed the new permanent 45% rate of Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR).

David Butcher, chief executive of Manchester's Halle Orchestra, said it was "excellent news for British orchestras".

The orchestra won a Royal Philharmonic Society Award on Tuesday for its part in last year's Manchester Classical festival, which he said was "just one example of an event where OTR enabled us to adventure with a new project that brought in new audiences from our communities in Greater Manchester".

Paul Fleming, general secretary of arts union Equity, also welcomed the Budget measures, but pointed out that they "come in the context of two decades of austerity in our industries".

"Local government has been forced to make arts cuts of over £1bn since 2010, with some bankrupt councils losing all of their arts funding," he said.

In 2022 the creative industries contributed £125bn in gross value added and employed 2.4 million people across the UK, according to the government.