UK Chancellor of the Exchequer extends film and TV Production Restart insurance scheme in latest budget

Stakeholders across the British film and television production industry have welcomed Rishi Sunak's decision in the UK Budget yesterday to extend the £500m "Production Restart" insurance scheme until December 2021.

Originally launched in October 2020 and due to end in April this year, the scheme has already provided much needed Covid-19 support for UK film and TV productions. Under the scheme the British government effectively takes on the role of a commercial insurer to offer support to productions if they incur losses because of the coronavirus, filling a gap created by the lack of available insurance. 

British Film Institute CEO Ben Roberts hailed the extension of the Production Restart Scheme which he said had already supported more than 200 productions to get back up and running since the start of the pandemic, creating more than 24,000 jobs and helping the industry to generate a significant £1.19 billion uplift in production spend in the final quarter of last year. 

The government claims that the scheme has benefited a range of workers in the film and tv sector from actors and directors through to camera operators, costume designers, and runners.