The UK government has published its Creative Industries Sector Vision, including announcing £77m in new funding for the sector.
The creative sector has consistently outperformed the wider economy, growing at a rate 1.5 times faster over the past decade and contributing £108bn in gross value added annually. Employment in the creative sector has experienced fivefold growth compared to the rest of the economy since 2011 – all the more impressive since large chunks of the sector were badly hit by Covid and declared “unviable” by the government of the time. In an apparent change of government opinion, PM Rishi Sunak described the creative sector in the report as “going like gangbusters.”
Developed in collaboration with the Creative Industries Council, the Creative Industries Sector Vision aims to expand the sector by £50bn by 2030, generate a million additional jobs, and establish a ‘creative careers promise’ to nurture a pipeline of future talent.
The Sector Vision centers around key principles such as facilitating innovation and investment and building a skilled workforce. To support this vision, the government has allocated £77m in fresh investment for the sector.
The new investment includes £50m earmarked for the next phase of the Creative Industries Clusters program, supporting the development of six new clusters specializing in various creative subsectors. Additional funding will aid startups in scaling up and support creative entrepreneurs in becoming successful CEOs. In addition, financial support will be provided to assist emerging musicians in expanding their reach in international markets, bolster video game studios, and sustain grassroots music venues. The government will continue to offer competitive tax reliefs to incentivize film, TV and video game production in the UK.
Four new state-of-the-art research and development facilities focusing on visual effects, motion-capture tech and AI will be established with an additional investment of £63m from industry. One of these will be based in Yorkshire, with the others in Dundee, Belfast and at Pinewood in Buckinghamshire. These are expected to generate over 820 new jobs across.
The budget for the Create Growth Program will be increased by £10.9m, doubling its coverage to 12 regions and supporting 2,000 businesses in commercializing their ideas and accessing resources and private investment to facilitate growth.
The Music Exports Growth Scheme, which helps rising artists break into new markets, will receive an additional £3.2m over the next two years. The Supporting Grassroots Music Venues Fund will be extended with an additional £5m over two years, although with around 400 venues signed up to the scheme that works out at a fairly modest £6k or so a year each on average.
The UK Games Fund will receive a new boost of £5m, bringing its total funding to £13.4m over the next two years.
New funding of £2m will also go to London Fashion Week for 2023-25, and £1.7m for the BFI to deliver the London Film Festival 2024.
Sunak said: “The creative industries are a true British success story, from global music stars like Adele and Ed Sheeran to world-class cultural institutions like the National Theatre. These industries have a special place in our national life and make a unique contribution to how we feel about ourselves as a country. We want to build on this incredible success to drive growth in our economy – one of my key priorities – and to ensure that U.K. creative industries continue to lead the world long into the future.
“Backed up with significant new funding, this ambitious plan will help grow the sector by an extra £50 billion while creating one million extra jobs by 2030,” Sunak added.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer added: “The imagination and ingenuity of British designers, producers, content creators, writers and artists are spearheading growth right across our economy. The government is backing our creatives to maximise the potential of the creative industries. This Sector Vision is about driving innovation, attracting investment and building on the clusters of creativity across the country.
“Working with the industry this vision is helping the UK creative sectors go from strength to strength – providing jobs and opportunities, creating world leading content and supporting economic growth.”
