Rishi Sunak
New plans to maximize the potential of the UK creative industries and grow the economy have been set out by the national government. One of the Prime Minister’s priority sectors for economic growth, the creative industries grew at more than 1.5 times the rate of the wider economy over the past decade and contributed £108 billion in gross value added annually.
Employment in these industries has grown at five times the rate of the rest of the economy since 2011. Speaking at the London Tech Week conference on Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that Britain’s creative industries were “going like gangbusters” and represent a “unique strength” for the country.
Developed with industry via the Creative Industries Council, the Creative Industries Sector Vision published sets out shared ambitions to build on that success and maximize the growth of the creative industries by £50 billion by 2030, creating one million extra jobs and delivering a creative careers promise that builds a pipeline of future talent. Framed around the key principles for driving growth – facilitating innovation and investment, alongside building a skilled workforce – the Creative Industries Sector Vision is backed by £77 million in new government investment for the sector.
“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 UK creative industries continue to lead the world long into the future,” the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said.
“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 maximize 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. And from first days at school to last days of work, we will nurture the skills needed to build a larger creative workforce to harness the talent needed for continued success. 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 across the country,” Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer added.
Lastly, Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, commented: “Our Creative Industry is not just about the glitz and glam of the red carpet in Leicester Square. It brings in £108 billion a year to help fund our public services, supports over 2 million jobs, and is world renowned. That is why we are backing it as an industry to drive our economic growth, keeping the UK at the top of the world’s cultural charts with a multi-million pound boost.”
According to the government, this initiative aims to grow clusters of creative businesses in locations all over the country, and more funding will help start-ups scale-up. New investment will help “the next Adele, Ed Sheeran or Sam Smith” break into overseas markets, alongside financial support for new video games studios and hundreds of grassroots music venues, the authorities said. Moreover, the government will continue to offer competitive creative industries tax reliefs to incentivize production of film, TV and video games in the UK.
This sector vision builds on more than £230 million in government spending on the creative industries since 2021, which includes £75.6 million to build the largest virtual production research and development network in Europe to put the UK at the forefront of advancements in visual effects, motion-capture technology, and AI for the screen industries and live performance. The government has announced regional research labs will be based in Yorkshire, Dundee and Belfast, with a national lab in Buckinghamshire. The programme will be supported with an additional £63 million investment from industry.
Alongside investment, the Sector Vision commits the government to a new creative careers promise – a pledge backed by a comprehensive package of actions to open up more opportunities, particularly for young people, to pursue careers in the creative industries.