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The House of Lords has called for BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British public broadcaster, to be part privatised and has suggested that the government should introduce a new tax credit to boost the production of kids TV in the UK.
The calls have been as part of the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications’ latest report – The British film and television industries – decline or opportunity?.
The body has suggested extending tax credits currently available in the British film industry to the kids TV business, which would be a massive boost for kids producers and distributors. It said: “Given the significant fall in spending on children’s programming (48%) since 2003, the committee suggests the government should consider introducing an extension of the film tax credit to children’s programming on a trial basis.”
It has also recommended that the BBC should should agree to sell part of BBC Worldwide to create a public private company. “This would enable it to become a global distributor of UK content on a much greater scale, producing additional profits, employment and opportunities for British production companies, which they can use to fund UK content,” the report noted.