The UK government has responded to a recent report issued by the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee in April 2025, which proposed various reforms and updates to the film and high-end TV (HETV) sector.

Taking each salient point in turn, the government's response acknowledges, but largely dismisses or defers, each suggested proposal. Instead, the response highlights the recently-announced Screen Growth Package, which will deploy £75 million between 2026 and 2029 to “scale up” various existing funds and grants in the sector, including the UK Global Screen Fund.

In particular, the government stressed that it has no plans to implement a 5% levy (or any levy, for that matter) on the major streaming services, nor does it currently plan to amend the definition of R&D for tax relief purposes to include the creative industries (as many other countries do), nor introduce VAT relief on tickets to “cultural events” such as cinema tickets.

Any further amendments to the audiovisual expenditure credit (AVEC) scheme were also shelved for now, with the government noting that tax policy decisions (including those relating to screen sector tax credits) are made “in the context of the wider public finances”.

Elsewhere, the government committed to producing an impact assessment on the various potential reforms to copyright laws (in order to accommodate text and data mining for AI training purposes) within nine months of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 receiving Royal Assent - i.e. by March 2026. This analysis will inform the government's position on the much-discussed tension between creators and tech companies when it comes training AI models.