Films Act 1985
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Where anything purporting to have been done by or in relation to that Council was done before the passing of this Act at a time when the Council was constituted otherwise than as required by law it shall be treated as not having been rendered invalid by reason of the Council’s having been so constituted.
In this section—
“control”, in relation to a company, means the power of a person or combination of persons to secure— by means of the holding of shares or the possession of voting power in or in relation to that company or any other body corporate, or by virtue of any powers conferred by the articles of association or other document regulating that company or any other body corporate, that the affairs of the company are conducted in accordance with the wishes of that person or those persons;
“British company” means a company incorporated under the laws of Great Britain, being a company— over which a Commonwealth citizen has control, or two or more Commonweath citizens are together in a position to exercise control, or over which a company which is a British company by virtue of the preceding provisions of this definition has control, or two or more such companies or such a company and a Commonwealth citizen are together in a position to exercise control;
" the final distribution period " means the period which began on 14th October 1984 and in respect of which payments are required to be made by the British Film Fund Agency in accordance with regulations made under section 6 of the 1981 Act (payments to makers of British films) and " the distribution regulations" means those regulations.
In relation to the final levy period section 2(3) of the 1981 Act (minimum and maximum amounts to be yielded by way of levy in respect of each levy period) shall have effect as if for " neither less than £2 million nor more than £12 million " there were substituted " not more than £12 million ".
In relation to that period section 4 of that Act (payments out of levy to National Film Finance Corporation) shall have effect as if—
in subsection (1) for the words from " falling wholly " onwards there were substituted " such proportion (not exceeding in amount £1-5 million) of the amount received by the Agency in respect of that period as proceeds of the levy as the Secretary of State may determine. " ; and
subsection (2) were omitted.
If the Secretary of State by order so provides, both the final levy period and the final distribution period shall, instead of ending with 12th October 1985 as provided by the levy regulations and the distribution regulations respectively, end with such earlier date as may be specified in the order; and accordingly, in that case—
any reference to the final levy period in the levy regulations, in section 4 of the 1981 Act or in this section shall be construed as a reference to that period as modified by virtue of this subsection ;
any reference to the final distribution period in the distribution regulations or in section 4 of this Act shall be construed as a reference to that period as so modified ; and
any reference to 12th October 1985 in the distribution regulations shall be construed as a reference to the date specified in the order.
The Secretary of State may by order repeal the 1981 Act as from a date specified in the order.
Any order under this section shall be made by statutory instrument.
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Where in consequence of an order under the said paragraph 8 (whether made by virtue of subsection (1) or not)— the Secretary of State shall deal with that property, right or amount in such manner as he thinks fit for any purpose connected with the British film industry.
any property or right of the Corporation becomes vested in the Secretary of State; or
any amount is received by the Secretary of State in respect of any such property or right,
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pay any amount received by him as there mentioned to the British Film Fund Agency for distribution in accordance with section 4(1);
arrange for the transfer in accordance with subsection (4) of any right to which that subsection applies.
The Secretary of State may, in the case of any right to which this subsection applies, arrange for the right to be transferred, on such conditions as he thinks fit, to any British company or partnership in whose case he is satisfied as to the following matters, namely— and, subject to any such conditions, the company or partnership may dispose of the right (whether wholly or to any lesser extent) and retain any sums accruing therefrom.
that the company or partnership will use its best endeavours to encourage the production of relevant films on a commercially successful basis; and
that it is willing and able to make financial facilities available to persons who wish to arrange for the production of relevant films;
Subsection (4) applies to—
any copyright or share of a copyright or any licence granted under a copyright;
any right in, or relating to the exploitation of, a film and not within paragraph (a).
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In this section—
" British partnership " means a limited partnership formed in accordance with the Limited Partnerships Act 1907 in which the general partner within the meaning of that Act, or (as the case may be) each of the general partners, is a British company ;
“British partnership” means a limited partnership formed in accordance with the Limited Partnerships Act 1907 in which the general partner within the meaning of that Act, or (as the case may be) each of the general partners, is a British company;
" relevant film " means a film which is intended to satisfy (whether wholly or to a substantial extent) the conditions that must be satisfied under Schedule 1 to this Act for a film to be a British film for the purposes of that Schedule.
“relevant film” means a film which is intended to satisfy (whether wholly or to a substantial extent) the conditions that must be satisfied under Schedule 1 to this Act for a film to be a British film for the purposes of that Schedule.
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Where the British Film Fund Agency receive any amount from the Secretary of State in accordance with section 3(3), that amount shall be added to the moneys available for distribution by the Agency under the distribution regulations in respect of the final distribution period.
With the consent of the Secretary of State payments under the distribution regulations in respect of the final distribution period may be made by the Agency after the date by which they would otherwise have been required to be made by virtue of the regulations.
Where they shall take such steps as they consider appropriate for the purpose of facilitating the securing of that result.
any claim made under the distribution regulations or any corresponding earlier regulations has been accepted by the Agency and they have allocated an amount for the payment of that claim ; but
owing to any lack of information relating to the claimant, or owing to any other circumstances outside their control, they have been unable to secure the payment to the claimant of that amount,
Where the Agency take such steps as are mentioned in subsection (3) with respect to any claim but are nevertheless unable to secure the payment to the claimant of the amount in question before the relevant date, the Agency shall on that date discount the claim for the purposes of the distribution regulations, and the amount in question shall—
in the case of a claim in respect of a period other than the final distribution period, be added to the moneys available for distribution by the Agency under the distribution regulations in respect of the final distribution period;
in the case of a claim in respect of the final distribution period, be paid to the Secretary of State to be dealt with by him as if it were an amount received by him as mentioned in section 3 (2) (b).
In subsection (4) " the relevant date ", in relation to a claim falling within paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection, means such date as may be fixed by the Secretary of State for the purposes of that paragraph ; and that date may—
in the case of paragraph (a), be earlier than the date by which payments in respect of the period immediately preceding the final distribution period are required to be made by virtue of the distribution regulations;
in the case of paragraph (b), be earlier than the date by which payments in repect of the final distribution period are so required to be made.
In this section " the distribution regulations " and " the final distribution period " have the meaning given by section 2(1) (but subject to section 2(4) (b)).
The Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury may . . . give financial assistance— In this subsection “British company”, “British partnership” and “relevant film” have the meaning given by section 3(7), and “short film” means a relevant film with a total playing time of less than 35 minutes.
to any British company or partnership, being a company or partnership in whose case he is satisfied as to the matters mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 3(4), for any purpose connected with the production of relevant films;
to any person—
for the purpose of enabling projects to be prepared, or other preliminary work to be undertaken or steps taken, with a view to the production of relevant films; or
for any purpose connected with the production of short films.
Assistance under subsection (1) may be given by way of a grant or loan or in the form of a guarantee or otherwise; and in giving assistance under that subsection the Secretary of State may impose such conditions as he thinks fit, including conditions requiring a grant to be repaid in specified circumstances.
The Secretary of State may appoint a person to make recommendations and provide other services in connection with the discharge by the Secretary of State of his functions under subsection (1)(b).
Any sums required by the Secretary of State for making payments under subsection (1), or for meeting any expenses of any person appointed under subsection (3), shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament; and any sums received by the Secretary of State by virtue of this section shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
Schedule 1 to this Act has effect with respect to the certification by the Secretary of State of a film as a British film for the purposes of audiovisual expenditure credit and film tax relief.
Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the certification by the Secretary of State of a master negative, tape or disc of a film as a qualifying film, tape or disc for the purposes of section 72 of the Finance Act 1982 (expenditure on production and acquisition of films etc.).
Accordingly, in that section—
in subsection (7) (cases where expenditure in relation to films is still to be regarded as capital expenditure), for " for the purposes of this section as a qualifying film, tape or disc " there shall be substituted " under Schedule 1 to the Films Act 1985 as a qualifying film, tape or disc for the purposes of this section " ; and
subsection (8) (certification by reference to eligibility of film in question for purposes of payments under section 6 of the Film Levy Finance Act 1981) shall cease to have effect.
The enactments mentioned in Schedule 2 to this Act are repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.
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in subsection (3)—
for paragraph (a) there shall be substituted—;
in paragraph (b), for " a film which is not so registrable " there shall be substituted " any other film " ;
In this subsection " former enactment relating to the registration of films " means Part II of the Films Act 1960 or Part III of the Cinematograph Films Act 1938.
the proviso shall be omitted ;
in subsection (8), for the words from " any such film " to " newsreels) ", there shall be substituted " any film consisting wholly or mainly of photographs which, at the time when they were taken, were means of communicating news, " ; and
subsection (11) shall be omitted.
Notwithstanding the repeal by this Act of the Films Act 1960 the register kept under Part II of that Act shall continue to be kept by the Secretary of State in connection with the determination, for the purposes of any statutory provision, of questions relating to the registration of films under Part II of the Films Act 1960 or Part III of the Cinematograph Films Act 1938.
Where any film would, but for the repeal by this Act of the Films Act 1960 and the Films Act 1970, be— that film shall be a British film, or (as the case may be) an eligible film, for those purposes notwithstanding the repeal of the said Acts of 1960 and 1970.
a British film for the purposes of the Film Levy Finance Act 1981 by virtue of section 9(2) of that Act (interpretation); or
an eligible film for the purposes of regulations made under section 6 of that Act,
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Where— that person may by notice in writing require that the question whether the negative, tape or disc ought to be certified as a qualifying film, tape or disc for the purposes of section 72 of the Finance Act 1982 shall be determined by the Secretary of State in accordance with the law in force immediately before the commencement of section 6 in like manner as if his application had been a request for certification made under section 72(8). Any expression used in this subsection has the same meaning as it has in paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 1 to this Act.
a contract for the production or acquisition of a master negative, master tape or master disc of a film has been entered into before the commencement of section 6 of this Act; and
any person, having incurred expenditure in pursuance of the contract (before or after that commencement) on the production or acquisition of the negative, tape or disc, makes an application under paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to this Act with respect to it,
The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument provide for such further transitional and saving provisions to have effect in connection with the coming into operation of any provision of this Act as appears to him to be necessary or expedient.
This Act may be cited as the Films Act 1985.
The following provisions of this Act shall come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which it is passed, namely—
section 6 and Schedule 1;
section 7(1) and Schedule 2 so far as relating to the Finance Act 1982 and the Finance Act 1984;
section 7(5) and (6).
The following provisions of this Act extend to Northern Ireland, namely—
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section 6 and Schedule 1;
section 7 and Schedule 2;
this section.
Sections 3, 5 and 6.
In this Schedule— For the purposes of this Schedule a studio shall be deemed to be used for making a film if any part of that film, or of any other film used in making it, consists of photographs taken or sound recordings made in that studio. Subject to sub-paragraph (4), each part of a series of films shall be treated as a separate film for the purposes of this Schedule. Where— the Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, direct that those parts, taken together, are to be treated as constituting a single film for the purposes of this Schedule. Any reference in this Schedule to a master negative, tape or disc certified under paragraph 3(1) or to a certificate issued under that provision includes a reference to a master negative, tape or disc certified in pursuance of section 72(7)(b) of the Finance Act 1982 as originally enacted or to a certificate issued in pursuance of that provision.
An application for the certification by the Secretary of State of a master negative, master tape or master disc of a film as a qualifying film, qualifying tape or qualifying disc for the purposes of section 72 of the Finance Act 1982 may be made by any person who has incurred expenditure on the production or acquisition of that negative, tape, or disc. In sub-paragraph (1) the reference to the acquisition of a master negative, tape or disc includes a reference to the acquisition of any description of rights in it. On an application under this paragraph for the certification of a master negative, tape or disc the applicant shall— as the Secretary of State may require for the purpose of determining the application. Any information furnished for the purposes of sub-paragraph (3) shall, if the Secretary of State so directs, be accompanied by a statutory declaration as to the truth of the information made by the person furnishing it.
If the Secretary of State is satisfied that a master negative, tape or disc with respect to which an application is made under paragraph 2 is a master negative, tape or disc of a film which, in his opinion, is a British film for the purposes of this Schedule, he shall certify that negative, tape or disc as a qualifying film, qualifying tape or qualifying disc for the purposes of section 72 of the Finance Act 1982. If the Secretary of State is for any reason not satisfied as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) he shall refuse the application. If it appears to the Secretary of State that any negative, tape or disc certified by him under sub-paragraph (1) ought for any reason not to have been so certified he shall revoke its certification. Where an application is made under paragraph 2 in relation to a negative, tape or disc of a film which has already been certified by the Secretary of State under sub-paragraph (1) on a prior application, the Secretary of State may issue the applicant with a duplicate or copy of the certificate issued on that prior application.
A film is a British film for the purposes of this Schedule if it passes the relevant cultural test (see paragraph 4A, 4B or 4C). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide for films to be treated as British films for the purposes of this Schedule if they are made in accordance with the terms of any agreement between Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom and any other government, international organisation or authority. This paragraph has effect subject to paragraph 5 (excluded films).
The cultural test for a film other than a documentary (see paragraph 4B) or an animation (see paragraph 4C) is as follows. Subject to sub-paragraph (7), a film passes the cultural test if it is awarded at least 18 points in total. Up to 18 points shall be awarded in respect of the content of the film as follows— Up to 4 points may be awarded in respect of the contribution of the film to the promotion, development and enhancement of one or more of the following— Up to 5 points shall be awarded in respect of work carried out in the making of the film as follows— Up to 8 points shall be awarded in respect of the personnel involved in the making of the film as follows— A film that is awarded all the points available under sub-paragraphs (3)(d) (language), (5) (where work carried out) and (6) (personnel) does not pass the cultural test unless—
The cultural test for a documentary is as follows. Subject to sub-paragraph (7), a film passes the cultural test if it is awarded at least 18 points in total. Up to 18 points shall be awarded in respect of the content of the film as follows— Up to 4 points may be awarded in respect of the contribution of the film to the promotion, development and enhancement of one or more of the following— Up to 5 points shall be awarded in respect of work carried out in the making of the film as follows— Up to 8 points shall be awarded in respect of the personnel involved in the making of the film as follows— A film that is awarded all the points available under sub-paragraphs (3)(d) (language), (5) (where work carried out) and (6) (personnel) does not pass the cultural test unless—
The cultural test for an animation is as follows. Subject to sub-paragraph (7), a film passes the cultural test if it is awarded at least 18 points in total. Up to 18 points shall be awarded in respect of the content of the film as follows— Up to 4 points may be awarded in respect of the contribution of the film to the promotion, development and enhancement of one or more of the following— Up to 5 points shall be awarded in respect of work carried out in the making of the film as follows— Up to 8 points shall be awarded in respect of the personnel involved in the making of the film as follows— A film that is awarded all the points available under sub-paragraphs (3)(d) (language), (5) (where work carried out) and (6) (personnel) does not pass the cultural test unless—
In paragraphs 4A to 4C— “Heads of department” means— For the purposes of paragraphs 4A to 4C— The amount of work that is carried out in the United Kingdom or elsewhere shall be determined— No points shall be awarded under any provision of paragraph 4A(5), 4B(5) or 4C(5) (where work carried out) in respect of work the expenditure on which is, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, insignificant in relation to the expenditure on all the work carried out in the making of the film.
A film must not be certified as a British film for the purposes of this Schedule if parts of the film whose playing time exceeds 10% of the total playing time of the film are derived from a previous film, unless— The Secretary of State may direct that sub-paragraph (1) shall not apply in relation to a film if in his opinion– For the purposes of this paragraph—
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if it appears to the Secretary of State that any sum which, as part of those costs, is paid or payable in respect of the labour or services of any particular person is so- great as not to be a bona fide payment by way of remuneration for the said labour or services, the Secretary of State may direct that that sum, or part of that sum, shall be disregarded in ascertaining the said labour costs or the said proportion thereof, as the case may be ; and
if it appears to the Secretary of State that no sum or a sum so small as not bona fide to represent all the remuneration therefor is paid or payable as part of those costs in respect of the labour or services of any particular person, the Secretary of State may direct that such sum, or (as the case may be) such greater sum, as may be specified in the direction shall be treated as so paid or payable.
Any person who is aggrieved by any decision of the Secretary of State under paragraph 3 may, subject to rules of court, apply to the High Court, and the decision of that Court shall be final. In relation to any person whose principal place of business is in Scotland, sub-paragraph (1) shall have effect as if for any reference to the High Court there were substituted a reference to the Court of Session.
The Secretary of State may make regulations— The Secretary of State with the approval of the Treasury may by order make such modifications of any of the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 4 to 5 as he considers appropriate; and any such order may contain such incidental, supplemental and transitional provisions as he considers appropriate in connection with the order. In sub-paragraph (2) “modifications” includes additions, omissions and alterations. Any regulations or order under this paragraph shall be made by statutory instrument. Any regulations under this paragraph shall be laid before Parliament after being made; but no order shall be made under this paragraph unless it has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House.
Chapter Short title Extent of repeal 1956 c. 74. The Copyright Act 1956. In section 13, in subsection (3) the proviso, and subsection (11). 1960 c. 57. The Films Act 1960. The whole Act. 1964 c. 52. The Films Act 1964. The whole Act. 1966 c. 29. The Singapore Act 1966. In the Schedule, paragraph 13. 1966 c. 48. The Films Act 1966. The whole Act. 1970 c. 26. The Films Act 1970. The whole Act. 1972 c. 68. The European Communities Act 1972. Section 8. 1973 c. 49. The Bangladesh Act 1973. In the Schedule, paragraph 9. 1975 c. 25. The Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975. In Part III of Schedule 1, the entry relating to the Cinematograph Films Council. 1975 c. 71. The Employment Protection Act 1975. In Part IV of Schedule 16, paragraph 8. 1979 c. 9. The Films Act 1979. The whole Act. 1980 c. 41. The Films Act 1980. The whole Act. 1981 c. 15. The National Film Finance Corporation Act 1981. In Schedule 1, paragraph 8(4). 1982 c. 39. The Finance Act 1982. In section 72, in subsection (2)(a) the words from “(except” to “requires)”, and subsection (8). 1984 c. 43. The Finance Act 1984. Section 62(6).