14/02/2003

In a new amendment to the Communications Bill proposed by two Labour backbenchers Parmjit Dhanda and John Robertson, the new super-regulator body Ofcom could be given the power to strip terrestrial channels of their licences if they do not programme more British films on UK TV. “The film industry is an important cultural and economic asset to the UK”, said Mr Dhanda yesterday. He was supported by the British Culture Minister Kim Howells, as well as by the rival Tory Party, following strong lobbying from the Film Council. Last November, filmmaker Alan Parker, the Chair of the British Film Council strongly condemned the lack of support from British broadcasters for the local film community: “The BBC invests less than 1 per cent of its entire budget in UK feature film production,” he said. Worse still, ITV, Channel 5 and Sky whose schedules also are driven by American movies, invest even less than that. This lack of commitment from broadcasters to indigenous British film production is completely out of step with the rest of Europe,” he said.
Described as the blueprint for the future of the media sector in the UK, the Communications Bill is expected to become law by the autumn 2003.

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