UK: £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme officially opens

£500 million scheme to cover Covid-related insurance costs formally launches for registrations

Film Set

Oct 17, Digital Media: Screen productions struggling to restart due to a lack of Coronavirus-related insurance will now get the go-ahead, the Culture Secretary and Chancellor have announced today, as the Government-backed Film and TV Production Restart Scheme formally launches following state aid approval.

In the UK, the film and television production industry supports more than 180,000 jobs and contributes more than £12 billion to the economy annually however many productions have been paused due to the unavailability of coronavirus-related insurance.

It’s expected the scheme will support well over 40,000 jobs across one of the country’s leading creative sectors by ensuring planned productions can proceed after a period of disruption due to the pandemic.

From today, productions can receive compensation from the £500 million scheme for future Coronavirus-related losses including filming delays from illness amongst the cast and crew.

Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:

Our film and TV production sector is respected the world over, filled with talented people. I am delighted that this half a billion pound scheme will get cast and crews back to doing what they do best. This move will help support tens of thousands of jobs, provide work for creative freelancers and get cameras rolling across the country.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said:

Our world-leading film and TV industry supports tens of thousands of jobs and is hugely important to the UK’s cultural life.

That’s why as part of our Plan for Jobs we are doing everything possible to help protect the jobs of the talented professionals who work in the sector.

This targeted scheme will help to fill the gap created by the lack of available insurance, and help get our world renowned film and tv industry back up and running.

The scheme has been accepting applications for two weeks to expedite the process by allowing for early registration and help productions familiarise themselves with the details of the scheme. Productions will now be onboarded within days.

The announcement of the scheme in July has enabled eligible productions to restart, and today’s formal launch following state aid approval will provide a much-needed confidence boost to the industry.

The deadline for productions to register for the scheme and restart shooting has been extended from December 2020 until 28 February 2021 to help even more productions access the scheme, reflecting ongoing uncertainty and the continued inability of productions to secure private insurance for coronavirus-related risks.

The funding is available to all productions made by companies where at least half of the production budget is spent in the UK.

Mothering Sunday, an independent production filming in the UK and starring Josh O’Connor, Odessa Young, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Olivia Colman and Colin Firth, is among the productions to have already applied to the Film and Television Restart Scheme.