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Is the Minister concerned, as I am, that the overall British workforce in these sectors has declined by 33 per cent since its peak in 2003? What measures are being taken to provide opportunities and greater job security for British workers in this sector? What steps are being taken to close the gap between the industry and the education system to ensure that we produce the skilled graduates we need to maintain the UK's position as a global leader in these fields? The report states that, in particular, apprenticeships and internships are "under-used and uncoordinated". What is being done to help provide better structured careers for this industry?
Linked very closely to this issue, Kate O'Connor from Skillset commented that:
"It does concern us that, overall ... we have now 50 per cent of the fund that we had last year, with a growing list of skill requirements and a real need to prepare for the future upturn".
What action are Her Majesty's Government currently taking to ensure that sufficient funds are available to safeguard the future competitiveness of the UK television and film industries?
The report highlighted that another big challenge facing the UK film industry in particular has been that the distribution and financing of movies-dominated, as always, by the big American studios-has led to intense global competition to persuade producers to make their films in particular countries. What measures does the Minister believe are necessary to help the British film industry take a larger slice of the revenue generated from this lucrative field? Also, given that the UK's three largest film studios are based in the south-east of England, what measures have been taken to encourage the development of other studios across the nation?
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Two other significant threats to future success and increased revenue for this sector are audio-visual piracy in the form of illegal file-sharing or camcorder crime. The committee believes that the Fraud Act 2006 is unclear, provides an insufficient deterrent to abuse and is inadequate to tackle increasingly sophisticated camcorder crime. Does the Minister have any plans to amend this legislation to provide a clear and sufficient deterrent?
It is clear much needs to be done to help these two industries overcome the significant problems they are experiencing and will face in the future. British film and television companies need help to develop and expand so they may be sustainable, and benefit employment and overseas earnings as well as adding to our national reputation for excellent and innovative production. We cannot afford to miss the potential opportunity to grow and prosper off the back of our creative industries. The Minister must seriously consider ways in which to support and encourage these particularly vulnerable UK businesses.
5.46 pm
Lord Davies of Oldham: My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have participated, and particularly to the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, for introducing this most timely debate. He does not need any encomiums from me as he has received plaudits from his colleagues on the committee on all sides. We know the value of the committee's work and have seen it on a number of occasions.
The debate has also been graced by the maiden speech of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester. He mentioned his colleague, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester: he was not missed at all in this debate. Although we might have thought we would miss him because of his very significant contributions to the work of the committee and all previous debates, as I recall, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester filled his position ably-though his geographical references were slightly different from those which I am quite sure his colleague would have introduced to the debate.
I was grateful to the right reverend Prelate for commenting on the question of regional and local news. He will know that the Government have clear proposals with regard to the independently funded news consortia which are directed towards meeting what we all recognise as a very real difficulty for broadcasting in the foreseeable future. My noble friend Lord Gordon indicated that he was not sure whether that was a permanent solution to the position. It is indeed the Government's position. We want to see pilots developed; we want to experiment and see how the market responds. I agree with my noble friend that this development has to be watched with care, but unless we do some pump-priming in this area and make some progress, the decline in television which we have all appreciated and has been reflected on by a number of contributors to the debate this afternoon will continue. We need to direct ourselves towards that.
This is one answer to the battery of questions which the noble Lord, Lord Luke, produced on behalf of Her Majesty's Official Opposition. On the day a general
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The committee is all too well aware of the profound technological and cultural changes in the media landscape over the past two decades. We are moving swiftly from the analogue to the digital world and film and television now operate in large multimedia markets which throw up a whole range of questions that we need to address. The fundamental question, of course, is that asked by the committee: is this a decline or an opportunity? In many parts of the House it has been identified as an opportunity and that is certainly how the Government respond to the challenges that we face. There is no doubt that those challenges are very significant but, during the course of the debate, issues have been identified and some recognition has been made of the way forward based on actions which the Government have taken.
I have already mentioned the independently funded news consortia, which are a very important dimension. The other issue, mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, is the anxiety about children's television, which was widely reflected in other parts of the House. I reassure the noble Baroness that the Digital Economy Bill is going through its Second Reading in the other place as we speak. It will come to this House on Thursday, when we shall have the opportunity of ensuring that the positive parts of that Bill on which there is agreement-she reflected parts of that agreement today, as did other noble Lords-will become law, if Parliament so decides in the limited time available. The virtue of the Bill is that it gives some plurality and provides competition for the BBC by supporting Channel 4 in its crucial role of public service broadcasting. The Bill will play an important part in that and it will help as regards children's television. The noble Baroness, Lady Howe, will know that my noble friend Lord Young has written to members of the committee on safeguarding children from material on the internet which might do them harm, and so on.
The issue of tax credits has been raised in relation to support for children's television. We are not against tax credits in principle, but we want to see the impact of the video games tax credit, which was reflected by the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, in the first instance and by a number of other noble Lords who commented favourably on it. I noted that there was a slightly grudging response to tax relief in that regard, but this is an important illustration of the way in which help can be given in what, as the noble Lord, Lord Inglewood, indicated, is an important part of the general economy of broadcast content. Video games are a special instance, but we shall look at the progress of the tax relief offered to them to see whether that might transfer across to other parts of broadcasting. Noble Lords have sought incentives which might give aid to what we appreciate are problems with the quality and provision of children's television at present. Although I cannot
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The noble Baroness, Lady Bonham-Carter, and the noble Lord, Lord Inglewood, spoke about tax relief. The noble Lord, Lord Inglewood, will know that we have to tread carefully in this area and the noble Baroness, Lady Bonham-Carter, will know the position, because we debated the issues at the time. The noble Lord will recall that, prior to 2007, the danger was that the old tax system for the film industry did not reward film producers but rewarded the financial interests that benefited from using film as a way of reducing taxation impost. That is why we need to address this issue, but we have to take care with regard to film tax relief. We are working with the UK Film Council to gather evidence so that we can get a clearer picture of the effects of the new tax relief criteria before we consider any changes. As noble Lords have indicated, and as the report of the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, indicated, the areas in which the changes have been operated since 2007 have already had some beneficial effects.
In answer to the noble Lord, Lord Luke, action has already been taken and it presages action for the future, when we are in a position to take that additional constructive action. Once again, that is an answer to his question, rather than anything else-except a failure to respond. Of course, I am concerned about the points raised on all sides, but raised first by the noble Lord, Lord McNally: he was drawing on the insights from the report about the necessary investment in film. His concept on how the City might be approached in more direct terms, with regard to support for the film industry, is an important one. We probably know why that has been assumed in the past, with the City being more concerned with what it often regarded as safer bets than perhaps aspects of the film industry.
However, the creative industries are making their mark. Around us we are seeing a decline in certain aspects of our economic life, but, as the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, said, the creative industries have shown very considerable health and growth in recent years. Therefore, we need to seek opportunities for investment and the thoughts of the noble Lord, Lord McNally, formed an extremely constructive suggestion.
That leads me on to a major feature of this debate and one contained within the report. The debate has followed the report in a great deal of detail for the obvious reason that the report is so comprehensive. The other great area on which all noble Lords were emphatic was skills and training. We need to meet the enhanced skill levels that the industry requires, and testimony was given to the committee of the failures in certain limited aspects of all the skills of graduates in this country. It would be a little better if the party opposite encouraged its Back-Benchers, and even perhaps some of its Front-Benchers, to talk a little less disparagingly about media studies and those degrees which do not fit into the traditional pattern of the more established universities. They should recognise that media studies and issues revolving around the
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I was conscious of the point that the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, also emphasised with regard to the imbalance between the sexes in terms of employment in this area; too few girls are adequately equipped in this respect. I remember, to my great distress, that when I chaired the funding council concerned with the further education colleges and we were concerned with skill levels, it did not matter what kind of engineering skill was needed-even the cleanest form-to provide the technical back-up and technical product for the media industries, the courses were overwhelmingly dominated by male undergraduates. We were not successful even in the areas of the most attractive engineering-and least demanding in physical terms-where there was no reason at all why women should not play the same role that men played; the imbalance on those courses was very pronounced. We need to make a great deal more progress in this area, and I was most grateful to the report and to the speakers in the debate for the significant emphasis that was placed on the skills agenda.
There was an issue raised about the merger of the UK Film Council and the BFI; the noble Baroness, Lady Eccles, spent a great deal of time in her speech talking about this important matter. We are clear that we want to see a new board that retains the knowledge of the BFI and the UKFC but delivers fresh perspectives in a challenging world. We certainly want to retain the powerful brands possessed by both those existing organisations, but it is important that we realise the advantages of the two coming together to produce a single brand on behalf of the new body. This seems to us a potential step forward in what all noble Lords have emphasised is a very competitive world.
The noble Viscount, Lord Falkland, emphasised the issue of distribution-a point that was also identified as a very great difficulty for the British film industry. We can be creative with regard to the production of films; our problem is so often getting the resources to ensure that they get effective distribution. We all know that in the UK, for obvious reasons in terms of resources and scale, we have never been able to match the vertical integration of the vast industries of the United States. It is important that we look at the question of what kind of investment we can encourage with regard to distribution, but it is a tough nut to crack and one that conditions some aspects of the relative success of the film industry.
One other aspect came up, which I emphasise noble Lords will have the opportunity to debate-I imagine all too briefly-later this week as we give our support to the Digital Economy Bill. The point that was raised by a number of noble Lords concerned the essential issue of intellectual property rights. The Bill represents a very significant dimension in those terms. We will not see the development of film and television products if those who produce them see very limited rewards because of instantaneous transmission through piracy.
The noble Lord, Lord Fowler, although not too many of his colleagues followed him down this path, referred to Project Kangaroo and the extent to which
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Once again, I join those who have paid tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, for his leadership of the committee, which has produced a most constructive report. As ever, the report identifies areas of very great challenge, as far as government is concerned, and for those concerned with the industry too. It is quite clear, however, that action is being taken in certain crucial areas with regard to this already, which has been generously identified and recognised in the debate. The Government look forward to the additional challenge as soon as the small interlude of the general election is over.
6.06 pm
Lord Fowler: My Lords, I think we will ignore that last point. This has been a good debate. I just correct the noble Lord on one point; all my colleagues follow me on the inadequacies which were shown by Project Kangaroo. I congratulate the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester on his maiden speech. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester made a great contribution to our committee. In our review of the BBC, the future of "Thought for the Day" provided some of our more diverting moments during that committee and a triumph-if I may say so myself-for my chairmanship, by getting agreement from the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester and the noble Lord, Lord Maxton, on the Back Bench, who does not altogether share his religious views, on this. I can see that the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester is a great recruit to what I hope will be the new committee.
I thank everybody who has spoken in this debate: the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, who underlined the importance of these industries and also the British actors and directors and the contribution they make; the noble Baroness, Lady Eccles, who pointed out how the tax system could be improved further; the noble Earl, Lord Glasgow, with his experience, who surveyed the history of the British film industry and the difficulties of financing-a similar point was made by the noble Lord, Lord Gordon, who again emphasised the funding problems and the "international incentives arms race" which is a memorable and very descriptive phrase to describe it; the noble Lord, Lord Inglewood, who, with all his experience, warned against a BBC monopoly in regional news and the noble Viscount, Lord Falkland, who came in right at the end of the debate.
I also thank the Front-Bench speakers, who set out their rival stalls. There was, encouragingly, much more agreement between them than one might have thought. The Minister was not exactly correct when he said that we were grudging about the Government's admission on tax credit for video games. We supported that; we wanted to see it extended to children's programmes. I think there is a strong case for that.
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Finally, I particularly thank two of the crucial supporters in the setting up of this committee; the noble Lord, Lord McNally, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, and the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, whose persistence finally triumphed. Many of the members of this committee will now stand down-all that we hope is that this committee has now established itself and that it will continue after the election, whichever party happens to win that election.
Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules
11th Report from the Merits Committee
Motion to Resolve
6.09 pm
To resolve that this House regrets that Her Majesty's Government have laid before Parliament the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules without providing an impact assessment or full consultation responses and notes with concern the risk that Parliament may lack the ability to assess the significance of the concerns that have been expressed by the education sector about the policy changes made in the rules.
Lord Avebury: My Lords, I hope that I will not be accused of putting a withering load of Questions on the last day of Parliament by the Minister who will answer this debate, as the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Oldham, accused the Conservative Front Bench of doing in the previous debate. It is unfortunate that there are a lot of questions to be answered on the Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, but it is not my fault that it comes up on the last day of this Parliament. As I shall attempt to illustrate, that is a product of the whole sequence of events that led up to the changes that affect tier 4 of the Immigration Rules under the points-based system, dealing with non-EEA students, and the changes that they provide are intended to make it harder for students taking courses at lower than degree level, whether they are genuine or not. The matter reaches us on the last normal day of this Parliament by the most extraordinary and irregular process, as I shall attempt to explain.
The context is the concern expressed, notably by the Home Affairs Committee of another place, about the prevalence of bogus colleges and the number of pretended students who were getting into the country before the points-based system was introduced. The committee found that 2,200 colleges formerly on the register of education providers either did not apply or were not accepted for the new register of sponsors, but it was also told that tens of thousands of illegal entrants might have got in under the old system. There were reasons to suspect, also, that insufficient checks had been made on the remaining 1,600-odd colleges and that leaving approval of colleges largely to accrediting organisations of varying competence and reliability
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According to UKBA's November 2009 document, Simplifying Immigration Law-a misleading title when you consider that the rules dealing with the points-based system alone occupy 44 pages of 10-point type-a minimum of 12 weeks is usually allowed for external consultation on changes to the rules, and impact assessments and equality impact assessments may be produced, depending on the nature of the changes.
The National Audit Office states that the Government are committed to conducting formal impact assessments of the need for and impact of new regulations. They are said to be mandatory for all government interventions that impose costs on businesses, as this statement definitely does. However, in this case, an IA was conducted when it was far too late for it to have any practical effect. The IA, which stems from the tier 4 general review, encompassed the changes in the present statement and in HC 439-yet another statement, which was produced a couple of weeks ago, which we are not dealing with today.
That may explain why, although the Merits Committee was told in February that the IA would be published "in a couple of weeks", the deadline was amended almost instantly to some time in March and now, coincidentally, to this very day. Your Lordships may think that it might not have appeared at all until after the dissolution if this Motion had not been tabled. The Merits Committee,
- "questions the policy development merit of completing an IA after an instrument has already been laid, let alone having come into effect. The House may wish to satisfy itself that UKBA has followed the Government's own policy on the use of IAs in this respect".
We look forward to the Minister's response to that comment and to the Merits Committee's report in general. That is not the committee's only complaint. There is no separate equality impact assessment, as there should be for provisions that have a differential impact on married students, for example. Marriage and civil partnership is a protected characteristic in the Equality Bill, which is about to become law, and the Home Office may be in breach of the public sector duty under Clause 1 that it should,
- "when making decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise its functions, have due regard to the ... desirability of exercising them in a way that is designed to reduce inequalities of outcome which result from socio-economic disadvantage".
Clearly, inequalities of outcome between single and married students result from socio-economic disadvantage which are being aggravated by the rule changes.
I understand from talking to a Home Office official that the equality impact assessment had been conducted in parallel with the IA, and was to be published with it today. I received it at seven minutes to three o'clock, so I have not had time to study it in great detail, but it states that there may be negative effects on equality, but that will be because they arise from strong policy reasons. It then considers individual types of equality and states that, in fact, no impact arises. How can those two statements be reconciled? There is no point in carrying out these exercises if the Home Office sails
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