Skillset/UK Film Council Feature Film Production Workforce Survey 2008

2.7 Nation or region in which respondents live and work

Respondents were asked to name the region or nation in which they usually live.  As Table 2.7.1 shows, the majority of respondents were based in England (88%) the same proportion as in the 2005 survey report. Almost all of these were concentrated in London (57%) and the South East (17%).  6% of respondents lived in the South West of England and 3% in the North West, with 1% or fewer in each of the remaining English regions.  6% of the survey respondents lived in Scotland, with 2% in Wales, 3% in Northern Ireland and 1% outside the UK.

Respondents were also asked to indicate where they had worked on audio visual productions in the past year.  The pattern of work across the regions and nations was rather different to the pattern of residence, indicating the necessity of travel for many in the industry. Although the vast majority (94%) had worked in England, most commonly London (87%) and the South East (39%), there were sizeable proportions who had also worked in other English regions, most commonly the South West (23%) and the North West (14%).  16% had worked in Scotland, 14% in Wales (up from 7% in the 2005 Film Production Workforce Survey Report) and 7% in Northern Ireland. A further 6% had worked in the Republic of Ireland.

Table 2.7.1 Nations or regions in which respondents live and work

Note: The total for where respondents have worked sums more than 100% because respondents could tick more than one box.

Table 2.7.2 shows the proportion of those usually based in a region/nation who had worked there. 

94% of those who had worked on an audio visual production in England in the past year also lived there.  Of the 185 respondents who had worked in Scotland in the past year, only 35% usually lived in Scotland (compared to 46% found in the 2005 survey report).  The corresponding figure was 38% for Northern Ireland (up from 26% in the 2005 survey report) and 13% for Wales (which remains unchanged from the previous survey).

Just under two-thirds of those who had done some audio visual work in London were also based in London.  For the other English regions, it was a minority of the regional workers who were based in the region.  While 31% of those who had worked in the South East were also based there, this proportion dropped to 20% for workers in the North West, 14% in Yorkshire and the Humber, 12% in the South West and to fewer than one in ten in the other English regions.

Table 2.7.2 Percentage living in the region/nation in which they work (note: row percentages)

Table 2.7.3 shows the percentage of those who lived in a particular region/nation and stayed away, or expected to stay away, from home overnight in order to work on a recent feature film production.  While around half those based in London or the South East of England had to stay away overnight, this was true for 62% of those based in other English regions.  In a reversal of the situation revealed by the 2005 film production workforce survey, Scottish workers were more likely to have had to stay away from home to work on a feature film production than their counterparts in Wales, and those living in Northern Ireland were least likely to require an overnight stay.

Table 2.7.3 Percentage staying away overnight by nation / region

Note: row percentages.

Older respondents were more likely to stay away from home during a production. Thus only 35% of those aged 24 or less had stayed away, or expected to stay away, from home, compared with 55% of those aged 35 and over. There was no significant difference between those with dependent children at home and those without.

Table 2.7.4 Percentage staying away overnight by age group