Freedom of information response
Spring Budget for Film and TV Studios
I write in reference to the recent announcement in the spring budget that film and tv studios will receive 40% rate relief. Please can you confirm the following:.
1. Is Business Rates Relief: Film and TV Studio for the current 2024/25 rate year automatically awarded or does it need to be requested/applied for by the rate payer or their agent.
2. If automatically awarded, please specify the exact criteria that is required in order to qualify for the Film and TV Studio relief.
3. Will it be automatically awarded by description (as entered into the list by the valuation office agency), SCAT code or by other means and if so please specify specific criteria is required in order to qualify for the Film and TV Studio relief.
4. If the property is described as warehouse and premises but is used and occupied by a TV and Film studio would this be eligible for relief?
5. How long will the relief be applied for?
Unfortunately Thurrock Council are unable to provide the information you have requested. This is because the last update we had from the Government on 20.3.2024 stated that local authorities would be provided with more information in due course. At this time this is the only information known which is taken from the gov.uk website and was issued following the Spring Budget.
At the Spring Budget on 6 March 2024, the Chancellor announced that the government would continue to support the creative industries and set out that it would introduce a business rates relief for eligible film studios in England worth around £470 million over the next 10 years.
Eligible film studios in England will receive a 40% reduction on gross business rates bills until 2034, backdated to 1 April 2024. The 40% reduction is inclusive of transitional relief. The value of any transitional relief a studio receives will be deducted from the value of the film studio relief. This means that eligible film studios’ final bills will be no more than 60% of their gross bill. English local authorities will be fully compensated for the loss of income incurred as a result of this relief and will receive new burdens funding for administrative and IT costs.
We expect that around 40 existing film studios may be eligible for support, located in around 25 local authorities, plus any additional new studios that are built which may be eligible. The relief will be available on properties valued by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) as film studios and the VOA will notify authorities of which studios are eligible for support. Guidance for local authorities will be published in due course, setting out the details of the relief, including the treatment of transitional relief and operation of the scheme.