GovWire

• Culture Secretary hosts major economic growth summit in Gateshead for creative industries and announces key priority areas
• Marks first step towards delivering Sector Plan, as part of the governments modern Industrial Strategy
• 60 million package of support to drive growth, including 40 million investment for start-up video game studios, British music and film exports and creative businesses outside of London
• British Business Bank will increase its support for the sector to help the UKs Creative Industries realise their full growth potential, while government also launches Soft Power Council to drive investment

Hundreds of creative businesses and projects across the UK are to receive government funding to help them grow as part of a major boost to the economy marking the first step of the Governments Sector Plan for the creative industries.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is bringing together more than 250 creative businesses and cultural leaders at the The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, in Gateshead today. As part of its modern Industrial Strategy, she will set out how the Government will work together with the sector to increase growth and investment, starting with a 60 million package of government support.This includes investments for start-up video game studios, grassroots music venues and creative businesses to boost British music and film exports, which will facilitate investment and innovation in communities, in turn supporting businesses and employment.

Growth is the number one mission of the Governments Plan for Change, so we can put more money in peoples pockets. Todays summit is the first step towards delivering the Creative Industry Sector Plan, as part of the UKs modern Industrial Strategy. It will set out the enormous growth potential of the sector and where the biggest opportunities are at home and in new markets abroad.It will identify what key barriers are currently holding back the sectors growth potential, and government and industrys shared commitment to overcoming them, laying the groundwork for the publication of the full Creative Industries Sector Plan in the spring.

At the summit, the Culture Secretary will also announce that the priority regions for Creative Industries are the North East, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, Greater London, West of England, South Wales, Glasgow, Edinburgh-Dundee corridor, and Belfast.

Alongside this, the Government will provide additional funding, to be agreed as part of the Spending Review, to six Mayoral Combined Authorities (North East, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, West of England) . This will maximise the strengths of these areas to deliver growth and builds upon progress to provide an attractive business environment and encourage strong, continued investment in the creative industries for years to come.

As the Government ramps up support for the sector, the Culture Secretary will also announce that we will bring forward changes so that shorter apprenticeships are available from August 2025, recognising the particular needs of the creative industries, as one of our first steps towards a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy.
The government is working with industry, including through a Creative Industries Taskforce chaired by Baroness Shriti Vadera and Sir Peter Bazalgette, on the sector plan and there will be more detail and policy announcements made in the months ahead.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said:

From film and fashion to music and advertising, our creative industries are truly world-class and play a critical role in helping us deliver on this Governments mission to drive economic growth in all parts of the UK.

Our 60 million funding boost will support creative and cultural organisations across the UK to turbocharge growth by transforming local venues, creating jobs, supporting businesses and spreading opportunity across the country.

But this is by no means the limit of our ambitions, which is why the creative industries are at the heart of the forthcoming Industrial Strategy and will continue to play a key part in this Governments Plan for Change.

The Government will create the most attractive business environment to encourage strong, continued investment in the creative industries for years to come. The Government will design the sector plan with business, who have set out the barriers to growth, including skills and access to finance. The Government will design the sector plan with business, who have set out the barriers to growth, including skills and access to finance. As a result the Government is also making a significant signal of intent ahead of the Spending Review by announcing positive changes to the way the British Business Bank, UK Research and Innovation and skills policy will prioritise the Creative Industries.

The British Business Bank, which supports 17.4 billion of finance to over 64,000 smaller businesses, has committed to increase its support for creative businesses to access the finance they need to grow.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:

Our number one mission is to grow the economy and our creative industries are a British success story with a big part to play.

Building on our plans to boost our AI sector, this is another step as we go further and faster to deliver growth so we can put more money in peoples pockets.

Todays summit comes as the Culture Secretary and Foreign Secretary David Lammy also confirmed the membership of a new Soft Power Council. The council will act as an advisory board to the UK Government and will bring together soft power and foreign policy experts to champion the UK abroad, and drive investment and growth at home. Members include former rower and chair of UK Sport Katherine Grainger, former athlete and television presenter Baroness Grey-Thompson and V&A director Tristram Hunt.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:

Soft power is fundamental to the UKs impact and reputation around the world. I am often struck by the enormous love and respect which our music, sport and educational institutions generate on every continent. But we have not taken a sufficiently strategic approach to these huge assets as a country. Harnessing soft power effectively can help to build relationships, deepen trust, enhance our security and drive economic growth.

That is why I have created the Soft Power Council to channel British expertise as we look to re-imagine Britains role on the world stage, reinvigorate alliances and forge new partnerships.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• Todays Creative Industries Growth Summit will include representatives from Netflix, Spotify, Warner Bros., the National Theatre and British Museum. Sector leaders will discuss what they need to unlock its enormous potential to boost the UKs economy further, adding to its contribution currently valued at 124 billion.

• Today is the latest example of our modern Industrial Strategy in action, following on from Mondays AI Action Plan.

• The Governments Industrial Strategy is a credible, 10-year plan to deliver the certainty and stability businesses need to invest in the high growth sectors that will drive our growth mission. That is why our Industrial Strategy will channel support to 8 growth-driving sectors, including the creative industries.

• The commitment from the UKRI is a response to the recommendation from the Prime Ministers Council of Science and Technology that public investment in R&D in the creative industries should reflect the size, economic contribution and future growth potential of the sector.

• Further sector moments for other Industrial Strategy sectors will be delivered over the next few months, ahead of the Industrial Strategy publication in the spring.

The 60 million package of support from the Culture Secretary is comprised of:

• 40 million in funding over the next financial year. This includes a further 16.3 million for the Create Growth Programme, 2.5 million for the Supporting Grassroots Music Fund, 5.5 million for the UK Games Fund, 1.6 million for the Music Export Growth Scheme and 7 million for the UK Global Screen Fund.

• Four cultural projects receiving 16.2 million from the Cultural Development Fund. These are:

1. The Centre for Writing, a new creative centre for the written word, will strengthen Newcastles position as a national centre of excellence for writing and publishing. The centre is expected to support over 100 trainees and attract 35 creative businesses to the city (5 million);

2. Glassworks, a new world class facility for glass making in Sunderland that will connect the citys 1350 years of glassmaking heritage (5 million);

3. Harmony Works, a music education centre in Sheffield, to transform a vacant Grade II listed building into a music education centre where young people from all backgrounds will be able to explore and hone their musical talents (3.5 million);

4. The Tropicana, a cultural venue in North S

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