Theresa Villiers (Shadow Chief Secretary To the Treasury, Treasury; Chipping Barnet, Conservative)

I want to speak briefly to the clause, which covers the meaning of film-making activities, and to emphasise a point that arose during discussions. The clause refers to

“development, pre-production, principal photography and post production”

but there is no statutory definition of those terms. The Treasury’s frequently asked questions document says only that they are

“familiar terms which are well understood within the film industry and take their normal meaning for the purposes of the legislation.”

As we have heard, however, the Minister himself had some difficulty in defining those terms on Tuesday, and it would be exceptionally useful if guidance on the new rules were issued as soon as possible. The indication is that the guidance will not be available until October, which leaves a considerable period of uncertainty. In that respect, I quote Liz Brion of Grant Thorton, who has considerable expertise. She says that if the legislation is

“not entirely clear, then many film productions may well be postponed until publication of the guidance notes, which will obviously have a knock-on effect on levels of film production activity in the UK for much of the rest of the year.”

I hope that the Government will consider bringing forward the publication of guidance.

Edward Balls (Economic Secretary, HM Treasury; Normanton, Labour)

I can give the hon. Lady the assurance that she asks for. We will be able to produce detailed guidance on the matter by the end of the summer. On the basis of our consultations with the industry, we do not believe that that will cause undue difficulty.