Animation UK welcomes the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee’s powerful report on the urgent challenges facing the UK’s independent film and high-end TV sector. But we urge MPs to go further: the issues raised in this report are even more pronounced in the animation sector, a vibrant and growing part of the screen industries that is too often overlooked.
As the report rightly highlights, rising costs, market failure in public service commissioning, and an over-reliance on inward investment are threatening the creation of culturally British content. These same pressures are already having a chilling effect on the UK animation sector, which punches far above its weight economically, but remains vulnerable due to underinvestment and a lack of targeted support.
In our recently published Blueprint for Growth, Animation UK sets out a clear and cost-effective roadmap for addressing these challenges. Our five-point plan mirrors many of the Committee’s recommendations and shows how, with modest and strategic intervention, animation could double in size and contribution to UK GVA, growing from £1.7bn to over £2bn, and increasing employment to over 20,000 highly skilled jobs.
Key proposals include:
- A targeted uplift in tax relief for animation TV content, not just features, to match international competitiveness and stimulate growth.
- A revitalised focus on children’s content funding, reversing the decline in PSB investment, exploring contributions and quotas from streamers and ensuring young audiences can access high-quality UK content.
- Unlocking private investment and access to finance for animated IP, which has proven global value and export potential, by reviewing EIS and SEIS programmes and introducing new fiscal incentives. As well as support from the British Business Bank.
- Increased international co-production support via an increased UK Global Screen Fund and reaffiliation with Creative Europe.
- Investment in skills and education, recognising the sector’s digital potential and safeguarding the UK’s leadership in animation innovation, as well as craft and technical skills at all levels.
This is a pivotal moment. The Committee’s report makes clear what we’ve been saying: our world-class content industries face a systemic crisis. For animation, the warning lights have been flashing for some time. We fully endorse the Committee’s calls for stronger support but urge them to build on their recommendations by ensuring the distinctive needs of the UK animation sector are embedded into future evidence, analysis and policy.
Animation is one of the most geographically diverse and export-ready parts of the screen sector. With the right conditions, not handouts, but smart, targeted policies, it can thrive, drive growth, and tell British stories to the world. But without action, we risk losing that voice, that talent, and that future.
Kate O’Connor, Executive Chair of Animation UK
Animation UK stands ready to work with Parliament, Government, and industry partners to ensure these opportunities are not missed. We urge the CMS Committee to include evidence from animation as it takes this agenda forward.
Read the full British film and high-end television report by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee here.
