The Government has published both its Industrial Strategy and the linked Sector Plan for the Creative Industries, to turbocharge growth across the creative sectors including in film and TV.
Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said the Government is planning to increase annual investment in creative industries from £17bn to £31bn by 2035, and that by 2035, the UK would be recognised as the best place in the world to make and invest in film and TV.
Growth will come from a series of measures focusing on four key areas: cross-cutting support; boosting growth in the highest potential sub-sectors including film and TV; unlocking the potential of creative clusters in the region; government and industry working in partnership.
A £100m investment will support creative industries alongside a £25m Creative Futures programme that will set up five new CoSTAR R&D labs.
To protect creativity and address copyright issues, a Creative Content Exchange – a trusted marketplace for selling, buying and licensing assets – will support creative innovation while facilitating the development of AI models. “We will make UK IP rights the best protected in the world, setting a gold enforcement standard in the UK, and internationally to protect rights owned by UK businesses,” the Sector Plan pledges.
The British Business Bank will significantly increase support for UK creative businesses with debt and equity finance, and as part of the government’s new £150m Creative Places Growth Fund, six Mayoral Strategic Authorities will be able to increase locally tailored investment readiness support.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review will seek to deliver a curriculum that readies young people for life and work, including in creative subjects and skills, while the Government develops plans to reform higher education.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will appoint a creative freelance champion, to advocate for creative freelancers and through the Plan to Make Work Pay, the government will also strengthen rights and protections to deliver good quality self-employment, including measures to tackle late payments, the right to a written contract and extension of health and safety and blacklisting protections.
Lisa Nandy said: “For too long, the sector has not been given the recognition it deserves and the backing it requires. Investments– particularly outside London–have been seen as too risky, talent has been overlooked, and under powered policies and programmes have failed to keep pace with the sector’s dynamism and ambition. The government, working together with industry, is making clear choices to back our nations and regions, and back talent everywhere, and this Creative Industries Sector Plan is the start of our commitment to ensure that we maximise the opportunities and tackle the issues that have long held the sector back from reaching its full potential.”
