Government confirms £90m film investment target will not be met

THE Welsh Government has confirmed that an ambitious target to generate £90m for the Welsh economy from a film investment fund will not be met.

A £30m Media Investment Budget was originally set up in partnership with the iconic Pinewood Studio, under which TV and film production companies would receive loans. The aim was to triple the return.

So far, however, only half the fund has been used, triggering just £18m in spending. The agreement for Pinewood to run the fund was ended last year, and it is now managed in-house by Welsh Government officials.

But AMs were told that only £15m of the £30m has been spent, and that only £18m of spending in Wales has been generated.

The agreement with Pinewood was announced alongside a deal with the firm to open a studio in Wentloog, near Cardiff.

Andrew Slade, director general of economy, skills and natural resources, told the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee that about £15m had been invested.

“To date we have quantified Welsh spend of just over £18m,” he told AMs.

Mr Slade said some productions had barely got going and were not yet in production phase.

But Mr Slade told Plaid Cymru leader and committee member Adam Price that the £90m target “seems ambitious now in the light of what we know”.

He said some money would continue to come through from projects begun during the period when Pinewood managed the fund. There would be additional money coming through from productions funded directly by the Welsh Government.

Mr Slade said the Welsh Government’s overall work with Pinewood had brought into Wales productions which had spent £24m.

“That’s over and above the £18m,” he said. “So if you take the two together, Welsh spend is at just over £42m.”

He acknowledged that there could have been greater transparency in the Welsh Government’s relationship with Pinewood.