Kick-start fund of £500 million launched to help UK film and TV industry
On 28 July, the government finally addressed the concerns of the film and TV industry and launched the “Film and TV Production Restart Scheme”. It has been clear for some time that the major issue preventing a return to live production was the inability for any companies to organise insurance to cover the costs of any delay or disruption to production by Coronavirus affecting crew or cast members on the shoot.
The government has now moved to cover this gap, and put in place a temporary scheme for productions which start in 2020 and will have been completed by end of June 2021. There is an overall £5 million cap per production and limits on the amount of each claim depending on whether it has been disrupted or abandoned. More detail is awaited on the exact operation. It will be interesting to see how far this extends, for example, if the production of TV commercials will be included as the same insurance challenges that exist in that market.
While this is extremely welcome news, it is worth noting that as long ago as early May, the French government announced its insurance support and PACT urged at that time for the UK government to adopt the same model. The delay of three months will have prolonged the agony for a lot of companies and individuals in the production world.
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