
Organisations including the UK Screen Alliance, British Film Commission, BFI and Bectu have reacted to Jeremy Hunts plan to provide more additional tax relief for expenditure on visual effects
By Jenny Priestley
Published: November 23, 2023
Organisations including the UK Screen Alliance, British Film Commission, BFI and Bectu have reacted to Jeremy Hunt's plan to provide more additional tax relief for expenditure on visual effects
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
As part of his Autumn Statement yesterday, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a number of proposals that will have an impact on the UK's TV and film industry.
Writing in the foreword to the consultation document, Hunt said: I can confirm that we will provide more additional tax relief for expenditure on visual effects, to boost the international competitiveness of the UK's offer .
The Treasury has issued a call for evidence to take what it describes as the first, crucial step towards this , and provide the government with the depth of understanding it needs to develop targeted proposals that will best serve the needs of the VFX industry.
The Statement also announced £500 million of investment across the next two years in compute power to help make the UK an AI powerhouse.
Hunt's announcement generally received a positive reaction from industry organisations.
Neil Hatton, CEO of UK Screen Alliance, which has long campaigned for reform to the UK's screen sector tax credits, said, This consultation and the promise of a more competitive incentive, should aim to position the UK as the first choice destination for VFX production for international film and TV. We are focussed on capturing a larger market share as global demand for VFX recovers, following the US actors' strike, and we aim to play a full part in growing the UK's creative industries towards the government's 2030 targets.
Adrian Wootton OBE, chief executive of the British Film Commission, described the chancellor's announcement as a clear recognition from government of the value of the UK's film and TV sector, at home and abroad .
The announcement of a call for evidence on how best to increase the generosity of the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit for visual effects is hugely welcome and will further boost our world-leading sector's offer internationally. Our reliable fiscal incentives, recently enhanced and reconfirmed, will ensure our competitiveness, cost effectiveness and transparency. And our support for the industry via the British Film Commission's work has been recognised and maintained. It's a package of measures that rightly demonstrates confidence and backs growth in our phenomenal UK film and TV sector in a period of intensifying global competition.
Ben Roberts, BFI chief executive, added: The government's screen tax reliefs have been vital in bringing productions to the UK which in 2022 translated into a £6.27 billion spend on film and High-End television production alone. In the face of increasing international incentives, the enhanced credits with further funding to support the infrastructure through BFI Certification Unit and BFC, help to lay the foundations for continued growth and jobs. The consultation on additional tax relief for visual effects expenditure (VFX) to be delivered through the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit underlines the increasing importance of digital skills and job opportunities within the workforce.
However, not everyone was pleased with the chancellor's announcement. Head of Bectu, Philippa Childs, described it as a missed opportunity to support the UK's creative sector and its workforce.
There is little in this statement that offers the protection and reassurance our members need, following another very difficult year of soaring costs, a continuing skills shortage and long periods of unpredictable employment, she added.
Some of our self-employed members may benefit from the abolition of Class 2 National Insurance contributions and the reduction of Class 4 contributions by 1 per cent, but these headline-grabbing promises offer little when considered alongside the bigger picture of an ongoing lack of investment in the sector, and freelance workers who are continually left out in the cold, she added.
Whilst the chancellor claims that this is an Autumn statement for growth', there is next to nothing in this budget that materially supports our world-class creative industries and a largely freelance workforce that is still reeling from the effects of the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and insecure employment.
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
07/05/2026
January 8, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), a leader in high-performance, on-s...
07/05/2026
February 9, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning pioneer i...
07/05/2026
March 20, 2024
NAB 2024, Las Vegas - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-awa...
07/05/2026
April 1, 2025
CINEMACON, APRIL 1, 2025 - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming syste...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), an Academy and Emmy Award-winning de...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront participated in the ICTA Barcelona Cinema Technology Summit on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Held at The Phenomena Experience, the event feat...
07/05/2026
July 1, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming systems for motion pictures, OTT,...
07/05/2026
July 1, 2025
Passion and dedication will take you places. Come with us on a short trip to the heart of India, where Annapurna Studios is living-up to the inspi...
07/05/2026
July 3, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming systems for motion pictures, OTT,...
07/05/2026
September 1, 2025
IBC 2025, Amsterdam - Colorfront (colorfront.com) - the Acade...
07/05/2026
April 17, 2026
LOS ANGELES - April 17, 2026 - Colorfront today announced Colorf...
07/05/2026
April 23, 2026
NAB 2026, Las Vegas - the Academy and Emmy Award-winning develop...
06/05/2026
New pricing tiers for vocal/dialogue restoration tool
NoiseWorks Audio's AI-powered vocal and dialogue processing plug-in is now available in three diff...
06/05/2026
Popular mixing & routing software overhauled
Following a recent public beta test, RME have launched the final release version of the powerful mixing and rou...
06/05/2026
New SOS Video Feature
Focusrites ISA C8X is a milestone product that brings together the companys analogue heritage and their expertise in digital audio. Yo...
06/05/2026
06 May 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Authorized to Resell Starlink for Businesses & ...
06/05/2026
UKTV has secured the exclusive rights to the early back catalogue of iconic Australian drama series Neighbours, following a landmark content deal with Fremantle...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky commissions feature documentary to mark 10th anniversa...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky and Formula 1 agree long-term partnership across UK, Ireland and Italy
Sky in the UK & Ireland to remain the home of Formula 1 until ...
06/05/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign launches nationwide, supported by new...
06/05/2026
Wuppertal May 6, 2026
Riedel Expands Leadership Structure, Appoints Marc Engro...
06/05/2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 6, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced its latest broadband innovations for ANGA COM 2026, highlighting its vision for a new e...
06/05/2026
Statement from Rupert Murdoch, Chairman Emeritus, Fox Corporation on Ted Turner&...
06/05/2026
Friday 8 May on RT One and RT Player
Meet the NSPCA team caring for and protecting animals in need in this six-part series
Fly on the wall, six-part series...
05/05/2026
Experts from the world of academia, tech, business, politics and media convened for a Thomson Talks at the Cambridge Disinformation Summit in April. It's th...
05/05/2026
Another year, and more proof that Asia continues to shape some of the world's most exciting new sounds. This year's RADAR artists draw from deep local r...
05/05/2026
The Austin City Limits Music Fest 2026 lineup just dropped, and this year, Spoti...
05/05/2026
New drum machine book campaign incoming
Bjooks have announced that during Superbooth 2026, they will be launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund the product...
05/05/2026
Flagship all-in-one production bundle updated
The latest version of Native Instruments' flagship virtual instrument and plug-in bundle has just been ann...
05/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host RF Testing Innovations Forum 2026, helping design engine...
05/05/2026
The company grew by 7.6% in net revenue and 16.3% in EBITDA, achieving a 33% inc...
05/05/2026
FOX Sports, FOX One and Indeed Launch Nationwide Search for FOX One Chief World...
04/05/2026
just:play pro 2026 and just:live pro 2026 are available to download!
More Details:At NAB 2026, ToolsOnAir showcased just:play pro 2026 and just:live pro 2026, ...
04/05/2026
just:in mac pro 2026 - The Next Level of Professional Recording on macOS
More Details:The headline innovation in just:in mac pro 2026 is the new Auto format si...
04/05/2026
Last week, guests gathered in New York City for On Air, In Style: An Evening with Spotify-a night of conversation, culture, and connection celebrating the inter...
04/05/2026
New music & post-production features added
Avid's latest DAW update delivers an array of helpful features aimed at both music and post-production users,...
03/05/2026
Polysynth now features Mutable Instruments' macro oscillators
Melbourne Instruments have just released a free firmware update that brings the engine beh...
02/05/2026
Versatile re-amping tool announced
Warm Audio are best known for their recreations of sought-after vintage studio gear, but their latest release brings a ne...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
Florals for spring? Groundbreaking. But a playlist that tells you which The Devi...
01/05/2026
One of the world's biggest popstars is headed to El Cl sico. Later this mont...
01/05/2026
Limited-edition model celebrates 15th anniversary
Heritage Audio's range of monitor controllers has just gained a new member, the Baby RAM Black Edition...
01/05/2026
Dumble recreation now available as UAD plug-in
Along with their renowned processing plug-ins, Universal Audio have been steadily introducing emulations of c...
01/05/2026
We were lucky enough to benefit from huge generosity, so we now have a fantastic Quantum 338T and are developing a cutting-edge d&b loudspeaker system, he expa...
01/05/2026
The first Quantum console purchase made by the company was a Quantum 338 in September 2020. Since then, the company has leveraged Quantum power to steadily expa...