Since the Government imposed lockdown in March, Pact has been working hard to help the sector navigate the pandemic and get back to work. During this time, we have been responding to a range of COVID related Parliamentary inquires including; the Treasury Committee’s inquiry into the economic impact of COVID, the DCMS Committee’s inquiry into the impact of COVID on the creative industries, the International Trade Committee’s inquiry into the impact of COVID on international trade, and the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee’s inquiry into post-pandemic growth. We have also made sure members are up to date with all the latest Government guidance which may affect their businesses.

Pact have been on regular calls with others in the industry as well as Government officials and Ministers to ensure that they understand the current issues and needs of the sector. We have worked with others in the industry on sets of guidance, which set out a high-level framework for working safely during COVID and how to minimise the risk when filming.

Pact’s chief executive, John McVay, leads the industry working group on insurance as part of the BFI’s Screen Sector Task Force and has been working with Government to find a solution as a lack of insurance has been the key issue stopping the sector from returning to work. In July 2020, the Chancellor and Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced a new Government fund of £500m to help domestic film and TV productions struggling to get COVID related insurance, which was welcomed by Pact.

Download the Pact Brexit Q&A

The UK left the European Union on 31st January 2020; however, EU laws still remain in effect while we are in the transition period. On 31st December 2020, the end of the transition period, the UK will no longer be part of the EU Single Market and freedom of movement will come to an end.

The UK is currently in negotiations with the EU about the future relationship and what their trade deal will look like. In February 2020, the Government published their negotiating objectives. While these objectives are unable to provide a high level of detail, there are references to audio-visual services and other areas of interest, including IP.

More information on how to prepare for Brexit if you work in the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport sectors can be found here.

Pact is monitoring the ongoing Brexit negotiations, and how they will affect the industry; and we are regularly updating our Brexit Q&A briefing document for members throughout the process.

Ofcom will be publishing their review into the PSB system by the end of 2020, which Pact has been eagerly awaiting. There is pressure on Ofcom to radically shake up the system, particularly in light of COVID-19 and the speed of technology change, which is having a significant impact on consumption and demand especially amongst younger audiences.

We will be fighting the indie production corner in case there are any significant changes to the effective measures that are currently in place, namely the Indie Quota, Terms of Trade and regional production quotas.

The new BBC Charter came into effect on 1^st January 2017 and mandated the creation of BBC Studios, a commercial arm of the BBC into which the majority of BBC productions have been subsumed.

Pact has ongoing concerns relating to fair trading and BBC Studios’ relationship with BBC. We are working with Ofcom and the National Audit Office to ensure that the BBC continues to be carefully monitored under the new Charter. We look forward submitting a response to Ofcom’s BBC Studios Review later in 2020.

In 2018, Ofcom led an important consultation into the definition of Regional TV production and how programmes qualify for this going forward. Ofcom published the second phase of this at the end of 2018, and several Pact proposals have been taken on board:

– Continuation of the two out of three criteria approach.

– General tightening up of the criteria and guidance in a number of ways.

– A series of recommendations to improve reporting, auditing and compliance, including spot checks and publication of a complaints process.

– An increase in data and transparency through an interactive register.

In June 2019, Ofcom published their final statement on their review of Regional TV Production and Programming Guidance. This updated guidance will come into effect for programmes broadcast from January 2021.

Download the Ofcom Regional TV Production and Programming Guidance Q&A.

There have been a series of positive announcements for companies based in the nations and regions over the last two years; 100% contestability for BBC content under the new Charter along with specific spend quotas for nations and English regions under the new services licence; additional investment outlined for BBC Wales, BBC Scotland, MG Alba, and BBC Northern Ireland; Channel 4 making a commitment of 50% spend in the nations and regions by 2023.

In October 2019, Channel 4 opened its new HQ in Leeds, followed by creative hubs in Bristol and Glasgow shortly after. These new physical locations, along with the broadcaster’s commitment to increase out of London spending, promise to have a transformational effect on production in the nations and regions going forward.

We continue to push for greater investment across the nations and regions to ensure that Pact members across the country have the opportunity to succeed.