Speeches by Frith.

“On the case to make to the Government, yes.”

“What would the characteristics be of that application to Government? What do you think would make the strength of the application as compelling as it would need to be to try to increase that settlement?”

“The point Ben makes about having to consider it in the round and being around the table is a version of what the Department is having to do in allocating its spending all of the time. Would you make a formal approach to them on that basis?”

“To come back to you, Jay, I am emphasising this point: how strong is the case for grant funding to support independent cinemas, especially given the pressures on departmental budgets? Do you not have a duty to ask other stakeholders that fund before going to Government and asking for departmental support before exhaust…”

“I understand that. I guess that, if I was in receipt of a request to the Department for grant funding, I would expect the industry to have asked for additional funding from the lottery for a settlement that is 25 years old.”

“Right. So it probably is due a review, is it?”

“Has it been 2.7% during the whole 25 years?”

“Can I come back in on that? That is good clarity on the source material point, Minister. You made a distinction yesterday in reference to, I think, John Whittingdale’s comments on the difference between a book and a series of photographs and it being easier to determine the source of one over the other. That is definit…”

“Do you think that the legal wrangles will increase with an opt-out model, more than they exist at the moment? Do you think there will be more cases, more battles as a result of opt-out?”

“Thank you. I guess with the change of operator and the time passed since the original iteration, there would be quite a compelling case to revisit it, not least if it is coming cap in hand to Government.”

“You were very quickly into the conversations I had with our previous witnesses about a larger piece of lottery funding share. Do you think there is a case that after 25 years, the 2.7% of the lottery funding that the BFI receives should be looked at in the round, not least because it intends to come to the Government d…”

“Hi, Minister; hi, Alastair. Thanks for your debate yesterday—it was brilliant, very enjoyable. I have a couple of quick questions before going on to the issue of artificial intelligence. You mentioned the BBC. Are you, like me, pleased that it is no longer a political football and that we have taken some of the heat ou…”

“Can I come back in on that? That is good clarity on the source material point, Minister. You made a distinction yesterday in reference to, I think, John Whittingdale’s comments on the difference between a book and a series of photographs and it being easier to determine the source of one over the other. That is definit…”

“I have a final point, just on the levers to bring audiences in. I read an article last week about the rise of the intermission, and is this cinema finding it a USP that people would prefer perhaps to sit in a more comfortable chair with a bigger screen, and with the intermission allowing them to take a comfort break—[I…”

“There will be no narrative here that suggests it should be anything other than in its pomp or on its way to be, for sure. As I understand it, a film that is released has to be at the cinema for a period of time to qualify for some awards. Would you support that period of time being extended and, therefore, improving th…”

“Just on cinema audiences—I ask as an avid cinema-goer myself, although I like to go on my own because, in truth, I get away from all the people I live with at home—what is it going to take to get cinema audiences back to pre-pandemic levels? What do you see as the role of the Government and the BFI in that?”

“On the case to make to the Government, yes.”

“What would the characteristics be of that application to Government? What do you think would make the strength of the application as compelling as it would need to be to try to increase that settlement?”

“To come back to you, Jay, I am emphasising this point: how strong is the case for grant funding to support independent cinemas, especially given the pressures on departmental budgets? Do you not have a duty to ask other stakeholders that fund before going to Government and asking for departmental support before exhaust…”

“I understand that. I guess that, if I was in receipt of a request to the Department for grant funding, I would expect the industry to have asked for additional funding from the lottery for a settlement that is 25 years old.”