The UK government has responded to a petition signed by almost 30,000 people calling for an income replacement scheme for crew affected by writers and actors strikes.
The petition was launched last month, states that the UK’s freelance production sector needs financial support and reassurance from the government that they “will not abandon the crew during this crisis”.
However, in its response the government said it had no plans to introduce an income replacement scheme, but help is available through HMRC’s Time to Pay scheme.
It added that it is engaging with stakeholders across the film and TV industry, from studios and streamers to unions, “to understand the full impact of continued strike action on crew, cast, studios, and related fields such as visual effects, post production and cinema exhibition”.
“HMRC has a ‘Time to Pay’ policy which may provide some support to affected crew,” added the response. “This policy allows businesses and individuals experiencing temporary financial difficulty to schedule their tax debts into affordable, sustainable, and tailored instalment arrangements with no maximum repayment period. These arrangements can be applied to any tax debt and are flexible, so they can be amended if circumstances change.”
More information about Time to Pay can be found by calling HMRC’s dedicated helpline on 0800 024 1222.
