During this COVID-19 crisis Pact is trying to keep indies as informed as possible by sharing details of the support and resources available to them across the UK, including those which are region-specific.
We are working closely with our Pact Council Regional Reps to update members on all available opportunities as the situation evolves. We are also liaising with the various screen agencies and will be closely monitoring any activity and updates from them.
We have created briefing documents for members about the Government guidance relating to each of the Nations of the UK, which can be found here.
Pact’s Nations and Regions Administrator, Hannah Grencis is available by e-mail and telephone should you have any queries: hannah@pact.co.uk / 01133944588
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Nations and Regions support
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Scotland
Pact’s Scotland Working Group, led by Pact Council Scotland rep Jane Muirhead, has been keeping in contact and considering the implications of this situation on indies in Scotland and the support they might need to get through it. We will keep members in Scotland updated with any new information arising from these meetings in due course.
Screen Scotland Hardship Fund
Screen Scotland has announced a new Screen Hardship Fund offering support to those experiencing immediate financial hardship due to the loss of income as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The £700,000 fund forms part of the Scottish Government’s £59million emergency funding package for the culture and heritage sectors. Like the £1.5million Screen Scotland Bursary announced in March as an early response to the Coronavirus, this new Hardship Fund is open to sole traders and PAYE freelancers. The Hardship Fund also offers support to those operating under a personal service company structure, who will be able to access this kind of support for the first time.
Fund guidance, eligibility criteria, and the link to apply can be found here.
Applications are live and will remain open until the available funding has been allocated.
BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Screen Scotland four-part series commissioning opportunity
**THE DEADLINE FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST HAS NOW PASSED.**
A new collaboration from BBC Three, BBC Scotland and Screen Scotland is offering indies based in Scotland the chance to win a four-part series commission. Indies are invited to pitch innovative, factual entertainment format ideas that reflect the life experiences of 16-24 year olds.The full commissioning brief and details of how to apply can be found on the BBC Commissioning website here.
Business development funding for Scottish indies
Screen companies in Scotland are now able to apply for funding for business development support through FOCUS. Find out more and apply here.
Screen Scotland Funding
In response to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, Screen Scotland has announced new funding and support for Scotland’s screen sector in the form of two programmes:
- Screen Bridging Bursary programme
**THIS FUND IS NOW CLOSED.**
A £1.5million Screen Bridging Bursary programme will provide one-off bursaries of £500 to £2,500 to freelance PAYE and self-employed screen sector workers who are experiencing immediate financial difficulty due to loss of income as a result of COVID-19. Information can be found here.- Single Project Development Fund
**THIS FUND IS NOW CLOSED.**
Scotland’s independent film and TV production companies are able to apply for newly ring-fenced development support of between £3,000-£50,000 to develop creative and ambitious projects over the next 3-6 months to enable planning towards production when Government guidance allows. Find out more:
– Broadcast: Single Project Development Funding Route
– Film: Single Project Development Funding RouteScreen Scotland has also compiled a list of useful resources for screen sector workers in Scotland, which includes screen sector specific support groups and organisations, this is being regularly updated.
Keep up to date with Screen Scotland news here.
Creative Scotland Open Fund: sustaining creative development
Funding between £1,000 and £50,000 is available to individuals and organisations to sustain themselves through the COVID-19 crisis. The fund is open all year round, with no deadlines and can support activity for up to 12 months.
Find out more and apply here.
Scottish Government Coronavirus Business Support Fund
The Scottish Government Coronavirus Business Support Fund is available to help businesses deal with the impact of COVID-19. The purpose of these one-off grants is to help protect jobs, prevent business closure and promote economic recovery.One of the grants available is £10,000 to ratepayers of businesses in receipt of the Small Business Bonus Scheme or Rural Relief. Business with a rateable value up to £18,000 are eligible. More information can be found here.
Scottish Government support: second phase of funding: (announced 15th April 2020)
Around £220 million of further grants are being made available for businesses and individuals - including the recently self-employed - to help them deal with the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The new package of measures, announced on Wednesday 15th April, includes £120 million to extend the Small Business Grant scheme. A further £100 million fund is also being made available to protect self-employed people and viable micro and SME businesses in distress due to COVID-19. Find out more here.
£20 million Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund (announced 21st April)
Managed by the Enterprise Agencies in partnership with Creative Scotland and VisitScotland, this Fund is for creative, tourism and hospitality companies not in receipt of business rates relief and is part of the Scottish Government's aforementioned support package.For creative, tourism and hospitality companies of up to 50 employees not receiving business rates relief, there will be rapid access £3,000 hardship grants or larger grants up to £25,000 where it can be demonstrated support is needed.
Read more here.
A further list of funding support for creative industry businesses in Scotland can be found here.
Business Gateway ScotlandOffering business support and advice through the Coronavirus pandemic for businesses in Scotland. Find out more here.
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Northern Ireland
Pact Council’s NI Rep, Kieran Doherty is in regular contact to discuss the needs of members in Northern Ireland. We will keep members in NI updated with any new information arising from these meetings in due course.
NI Micro-business Hardship Fund
*APPLICATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED*
£40m Hardship Fund aimed at microbusinesses which have not been eligible for existing support schemes. More info here.
Northern Ireland Executive support
As part of the measures announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 17th March, the Northern Ireland Executive received an additional £640m in support, in addition to the £260m announced in the budget.
The initial support was as follows:- No business rates in Northern Ireland for a period of 3 months
- An immediate grant of £10,000 available to all small businesses with a net annual value up to £15,000
Find out more here.
BBC Three and BBC NI expand youth brief for indies
**THE DEADLINE FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST HAS NOW PASSED**
The partnership with Northern Ireland Screen invites local companies to submit format ideas as part of a youth content development scheme with the promise of a factual entertainment series commission. Find out more here.
Rewriting the Narrative Funding Call
**THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS HAS NOW PASSED**
In response to the impact of Covid-19 on the creative industries, Future Screens NI and Northern Ireland Screen are partnering to deliver the Rewriting the Narrative Funding Call. It will fund up to 20 projects with a £5,000 grant each to carry out research and development into the five themes outlined by the programme. Projects can be in any form; a digital platform, short film or animation, a play, a script, a report, or VR/AR experiences. Find out more here.
Northern Ireland Screen have put together a summary of the current support available to those in Northern Ireland, as well as some useful links.
Film Hub Northern Ireland has information about their current set up and the impact on funding here.
NI Business
Information and support for businesses from Invest Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Executive is available here.
Arts Council Northern Ireland – Creative Support Fund
*APPLICATIONS WINDOW NOW CLOSED**
A new Fund totaling £1.5 million to support the arts sector (freelance artists, creative practitioners and performers) in Northern Ireland during the Coronavirus crisis.The Creative Support funding package comprises two strands. Both funds will be administered by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland:
The Artists Emergency Programme – applications now closed
The Organisations Emergency Programme – applications now closed -
Wales
Ffilm Cymru announces £530k support package for Welsh film sector (posted 28th April)
Ffilm Cymru has announced a support package worth £530,000 for the Welsh film sector during the COVID-19 pandemic which includes an Emergency Relief Fund; Additional funds to support business innovation for producers; an increased Horizons Fund to support individual emerging writers, directors and producers; and an accelerated Development Fund for writer, director and producer teams developing their feature film projects.
Find out more here.
Creative Wales Emergency TV Development Fund
**THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS HAS NOW PASSED**
Up to £25,000 is available for companies to utilise the time, during which production cannot take place, to develop projects which will put them in a stronger position to secure commissions once a normal mode of working resumes. Funding is for projects intended for TV only.
Creative Wales Emergency Digital Development Fund
**THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS HAS NOW PASSED**
The EDDF fund will provide immediate financial support for games, animation, digital agencies and creative digital businesses during the coronavirus outbreak to:- support the retention of IP by indigenous companies which, in turn, will enable them to grow.
- enable indigenous digital creative companies to develop new digital services and improve or introduce new platforms for the digitisation or distribution of digital content.
S4C £6m support package (posted 8th April 2020)
Responding to both the need to reflect the current situation in on-screen programming and the pressures on the Welsh production sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, the channel has initiated a three-part strategy which includes a rapid commissioning round and additional support for the sector. Find out more here.
Economic Resilience FundThe Economic Resilience Fund is broken down as follows:
- £100m COVID-19 Wales Business Loan Scheme administered by Development Bank of Wales (which is fully subscribed)
- £100m fund to support microbusinesses
- £300m fund to support SMEs and large businesses
The Fund is open to applications from 17th April 2020 for 12 months. Find out more about the Economic Resilience Fund and other financial support in Wales here.
Film Hub Wales is posting updates via its website.
Creative Cardiff has collated the latest advice for businesses in the City, which they are updating on a regular basis as the situation evolves.
Business Wales
A range of information relating to COVID-19 support for businesses in Wales can be found here. -
English Regions
£20 million in new grants to boost recovery of small businesses (announced 30th July 2020)
Small and medium sized businesses in England can access grants of £1,000 - £5,000 for new equipment and technology and specialist advice. The support will be fully funded by the Government with no obligation for businesses to contribute financially.
The funding has been allocated to Growth Hubs within each LEP area in line with the current England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Programme.
For more information about the criteria and how to apply, please contact your LEP Growth Hub.
Yorkshire & the HumberIndie TV and Film Development Fund
**THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS HAS NOW PASSED**
The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (the LEP) and Screen Yorkshire have joined forces to launch a funding initiative to support the Leeds City Region’s TV and film industries.The Fund totals £200,000, with awards of between £2,500 and £25,000 available to help independent TV and film production companies to develop new content.
Eligibility: the fund is open to independent film and TV production companies with a substantive base in Leeds City Region who can demonstrate a proven track record in productions that have been broadcast (nationally or internationally) and / or commercially distributed.
Find out more about the fund here.
Screen Yorkshire has issued this update and are continuing to run their Film Office.
Creative grants have been announced by Leeds City Council, allowing individuals and organisations in Leeds to get money to help with creative projects and ideas during the coronavirus outbreak.
The Round Foundry Media Centre, where Pact’s office in Leeds is based, shared this information from Leeds City Council to outline how the Council is supporting businesses in Leeds that are affected by the coronavirus.
The NorthBBC3 and BBC England launch factual development opportunity Northern Voices
**THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS HAS NOW PASSED**
The Northern Voices scheme is seeking documentary ideas from independent production companies based in the North of England that reflect the life experiences of 16-24 year-olds in the region and include new young talent (on and off screen). Find out more here.
Liverpool Film and TV Development Fund
The Film and TV Development Fund will provide investments of up to £25,000 per project to support the development of “ambitious and distinctive content” across feature film and TV genres. The Fund will be overseen by the Liverpool Film Office and is open for applications.
BFI Hub North has a COVID-19 update on their website outlining what has changed in the services they are offering and what hasn’t, as well as useful links.
Northern Film + Media (NFM) is North East England’s creative industries development agency. Their latest industry support resources and advice can be found here.
Social enterprise The Growth Company has launched a new initiative aimed at helping businesses and individuals affected by the unprecedented shift in the jobs market caused by the coronavirus crisis. Employ GM is a free service aiming to connect employers that have urgent vacancies with available individuals across the Greater Manchester region. It has been launched in partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
The South EastThe Pact Brighton Working Group has been liaising on support for indies in the area. We will keep members in the South East updated with any new information arising from these meetings in due course.
Screen South remains open for business. Read their COVID-19 statement here.
Film Hub South East have information about their support and resources here.
BFI NETWORK South East is still providing funding and support to filmmakers. Information can be found here.
Mayor of London Culture at Risk Business Support Fund
The Mayor of London launched a new emergency £2.3m fund to help some of London's most at risk creative and night time businesses. The targeted fund is designed to help grassroots music and LGBTQ+ venues, creative workspaces and independent cinemas. Find out more here.
The Midlands£2m investment to grow West Midlands film, TV and games sector (announced 23rd April 2020)
Create Central, the industry-led body set up in late 2019 has secured £2million of investment to deliver a programme of activities to help turbo charge the West Midlands film, TV and games sector.Create Central has been awarded £1million through the BFI’s National Cluster Growth Fund using National Lottery money to deliver a long term growth plan specifically to meet the needs of the West Midlands’ screen businesses. In addition, £500,000 investment has been confirmed by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and £500,000 from Tin Smart Social, a regional social enterprise. Find out more here.
Create Central is also feeding industry intelligence and issues directly to government through a regional COVID-19 taskforce, as well as being part of the national BFI-led screen sector task force. Create Central do not provide any direct grants to businesses.Birmingham City Council’s Film and Television office, Film Birmingham is sharing useful information and resources for businesses in the Midlands here.
Film Hub Midlands is continuing to offer what support they can but have had to temporarily pause all of their applications and funds. Read their statement here.
The South WestThe Pact Bristol Working Group is keeping in touch on a regular basis, led by Pact Council rep Laura Marshall. We will keep members in the South West updated with any new information arising from these meetings in due course.
Film Hub South West is providing regular updates regarding the COVID-19 situation, including links to mental health support and a response for filmmakers. The BFI NETWORK Short Film and Early Development Funds are still open for applications and the BFI NETWORK Talent Executive will be responding to enquiries as usual: bfinetwork@watershed.co.uk
England-wideCreative England is posting regular updates on its website with COVID-19 guidance and links to further support and resources.
Creative England Creative Growth Finance Debt Fund
The Creative Growth Finance Debt Fund, in partnership with Triodos Bank UK, is a £24 million fund providing vital scale up finance to the UK’s most promising creative businesses. It has been updated since COVID-19 to make it easier and faster for businesses to access the loans. Find out more here.
Local Growth Hubs - England
Find your local Growth Hub in England for free advice and information on:
- local and national business support
- sources of finance
- help to build business resilienceFind out more here.
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Scotland
We will regularly update this page with nations and regions specific information as and when we have new details to share. If you have information which you would like us to add to this page please contact Hannah Grencis: hannah@pact.co.uk.
Please note: Information is changing rapidly and whilst we are doing everything we can to keep our website up to date we advise you to double check with the organisations directly and please also keep checking your e-mails from Pact for the most up to date announcements and information.
