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Pinewood Shepperton plc - Government Relations

"The Policy Partnership has a solid understanding of the issues faced by government and the experience to ensure a true dialogue results in the very best solution for all sides."
Ivan Dunleavy, CEO, Pinewood Shepperton plc

 

In January 2005, Pinewood Shepperton approached The Policy Partnership about the future of film tax relief. The Government were reviewing this fiscal policy due to the system being abused. However, no tax incentives would mean fewer big budget films made in the UK.

The Policy Partnership advised Pinewood Shepperton to build a coalition of those involved in the decision-making process, including MPs, peers, officials and UK Post, the post-production lobby group, and to develop a robust, evidence-based case.

At our suggestion, they commissioned Oxford Economic Forecasting to produce an independent study into the 'Economic Contribution of the UK Film Industry'. It demonstrated that the Exchequer benefited from its tax film incentives, as did the UK in terms of tourism, training and employment. This received considerable media coverage and its detailed findings were made available to policy makers.

High-level briefing meetings were held with senior Government officials within HM Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The major US studios threatened to produce blockbuster films in cheaper markets such as the Czech Republic unless the proposed new tax credit was 15%. Industry players lobbied hard and representations were made to the Paymaster General, the Chancellor and their advisers and officials.

In his 2006 Pre-Budget Report, Gordon Brown announced that the tax credit would be 16%.