A new toolkit has been launched to further support regional filming in England, outside London. The Economic Impact Toolkit is from Creative England’s Filming in England in collaboration with creative industries consultancy, Olsberg•SPI. 

Local authorities in eight English regions now have access to the toolkit, designed to support the production of feature films and high-end television (HETV).

This first-of-its-kind resource will measure and communicate the impact of the screen sector on local communities, as well as highlighting the economic benefits for the region.  

With over 200 local authorities able to benefit from the resource, the launch marks a new collaboration between the film and television industry and local government. 

Key features include: 

• Ripple Analysis – a process that reviews a screen production’s expenditure and categorises it according to several pre-defined business sectors, to demonstrate the ripple effect that production spend can have on a local economy.  

• Regional Impact Tool – The economic uplifts in terms of output, the value created (GVA) and employment within screen production companies resulting from the increase in production expenditure. 

• Incoming production checklist – a step-by-step approach for local authorities to use when processing requests from production companies to carry out commercial filming. 

• Average Local Production Spend Rate Card – to calculate the average daily economic local spend of a production filming on location. 

Hayley Armstrong, head of production services, Creative England, said: “The UK’s screen industries have bounced back faster than almost any other industry post-pandemic; the truly unprecedented global demand for content, film and HETV production spend in the UK reached a record £6.27 billion in 2022.  This toolkit couldn’t come at a better time for our industry. 

“Olsberg•SPI has over 31 years of industry experience that they’re plugging into the project; from the granular analysis of intricate production budgets to their extensive economic research that brings the innovation of the regional impact tool to life. We’re proud to be part of the delivery to change the face of how local authorities and our world-class screen industry work together across the regions to deliver even more economic impact and value across the country.” 

Jonathan Olsberg, executive chair at Olsberg•SPI, added: “We at SPI were honoured to be commissioned by Filming in England to develop this unique and valuable Local Economic Impact Toolkit. 

“As the global screen sector continues to evolve, and audiences all over the world continue to demand engaging film and TV series content, production spend is projected to remain high, and the English Regions are well-placed to host more and more productions in the future. This Toolkit will support the accurate measuring and reporting of local economic impact, and by extension, continue to demonstrate the value of this industry.”