In 2004 the Department of Trade and Industry and the UK Film Council backed the establishment of the new trade body to represent the post production and special effects sector. It provided seed funding to assist in the set up UK Post. In a relatively short space of time UK Post demonstrated that the seemingly fragmented post production sector could unite to tackle the overarching issues which impacted the industry. UK Post made a major contribution to the film tax consultation conducted by HM Treasury and Department for Culture Media and Sport. It also engaged effectively with the BBC to access quality, rather than speculative, information to enable member companies to take more informed decisions about the future direction of their businesses. It has promoted the post production sector both domestically and overseas.
During UK Post's dealings with various government bodies, broadcasters, trade associations, it became apparent that there was a considerable amount of shared interest amongst the infrastructure companies and the realisation that with stronger representation and a more cohesive approach for the whole service sector the industry would be in a much better position to face the many challenges and opportunities ahead. The membership supported the board's strategy to open up membership to all companies providing services to the film and broadcast industry. At the Annual General Meeting on 5th September 2006, UK Post changed its name to UK Post & Services.
After much deliberation, the board decided that a more radical change of name was necessary to truly reflect the trade body's broadened remit, its expanded membership and the industry's move towards multi-platform content creation and delivery. On 30th May 2007, as part of the 3rd birthday celebrations the board announced the name had been changed to UK Screen Association.
The database of the UK's film and broadcast service industry