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On 18 September 2003, the UK Parliament published its Committee on Culture Media and Sport's Report on the British Film Industry. The Committee reports that "[t]here is a British film industry" but that "there are longstanding chronic difficulties." However, the Committee is also of the view that "[p]ublic policy has a role to play in strengthening the industry in order to generate substantial economic rewards and important cultural benefits." A central conclusion is that it is essential to maintain an "attractive tax regime", but that in reviewing it, "the Government should assess whether there...

The British Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has accepted a recommendation from the Competition Commission that a merger between the two major UK broadcasters on ITV (Channel 3), Carlton and Granada, should be permitted to go ahead, subject to conditions relating to advertising sales (for the reference of the merger to the authorities see IRIS 2003-4: 9). The effect will be to create a single company owning ITV in England (although in Scotland separate ownership will remain). This was one of the last mergers to be referred under the Fair Trading Act 1973, which places the final decision...

The UK has amended the definition of "independent producer" for the purposes of section 16 of the Broadcasting Act 1990, which requires that independent productions form at least 25% of programmes broadcast by the major broadcasters. This in turn implements the requirements on independent productions of the "Television Without Frontiers" Directive. The new amending order makes two important changes to the definition of "independent producer". The first is to provide that the previous exclusion of any producer in which a broadcaster owned more than 15% of shares applies only to UK broadcasters....

The "Hutton Inquiry" is a judicial hearing into "the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr. Kelly" (UK civil servant and weapons inspector). On 24 July 2003, a Press Notice was issued, stating that "the public hearings of the Inquiry will, of course, be open to the media. The press and other sections of the media will be able to report the entirety of the public hearings save that it is Lord Hutton's present intention that the evidence of witnesses to the Inquiry and applications in the course of the Inquiry will not be filmed or broadcast. However, TV filming and radio broadcasting of opening...

The Communications Act 2003 has now finished its passage through Parliament and became law on 17 July 2003 (see IRIS 2002-6: 9, IRIS 2002-7: 12 and IRIS 2002-8: 7). The Act is long and complex and makes major changes both to regulatory institutions and to the law relating to broadcasting; the main themes of the legislation are as follows. First, the Act gives regulatory powers to a new institution, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), to replace five earlier ones, including the Independent Television Commission and the Radio Authority (the Office had already been established in preliminary form...