Good evening, I’m really happy to be with you today. I am delighted to have been invited by Caroline, a true powerhouse who leads the creative industry.
Creative UK plays a key advocacy role in convening organizations across the cultural and creative industries. I know hundreds of you are members and I value the programs that Creative UK runs across the UK. Creative UK believes that creativity can change the world. I believe that too.
This evening I would like to talk about some of the achievements of joint collaboration between government and industry. Fruit helped establish a strong framework for the industry to thrive and helped pave the way for measures like the one we’re introducing today.
I wanted to start by acknowledging some of the great creativity I have seen over the past year as Culture Secretary.
Because there is so much great work that is bringing joy and meaning to people across the country. First-rate productions of original work by The Motive and the Q, as well as works by The National. A modern interpretation of Othello at The Grove. A traditional and beautiful production of Cinderella at the Royal Opera House. Authentic British dramas like “Happy Valley” and “Inside Man.” Great movies like Saltburn and Oppenheimer. A ‘see, hear and feel’ interactive Ukrainian exhibition held in Liverpool during Eurovision. Manchester’s stunning Aviva his studio, home to the new flagship destination Factory International. Our iconic world-leading fashion has been featured in his NEWGEN Rebel exhibition at the Design Museum.
Each show, each production, festival, and exhibition is great in itself, but it’s also part of a larger picture of creative success. And each creative endeavor fundamentally relies on incredible innovation, technical expertise, and the skill of so many people. Like his 4Wood TV & Film, a set specialist based in Wales and growing in the West Midlands, producing productions such as Doctor Who.
In recent weeks we’ve seen some of Britain’s finest talent recognized at BRITS, BAFTA and London Fashion Week, but the creativity coming through at the grassroots level is equally inspiring.
Our startups, schools, colleges and grassroots venues are all incubators of ideas and home to the creative geniuses of tomorrow. And our cultural institutions are doing ground-breaking work, like the Royal Shakespeare Company, transforming literacy across the UK. The National Theater brings the best of theater to schools, libraries and museums. Meanwhile, places like London’s Roundhouse Works and Cambridge’s The Junction are creating opportunities for the next generation of musicians and creators.
One of the most exciting visits I’ve ever had was to the London Screen Academy. How Charlie Kennard and his team are building a talent pipeline of creative, confident kids who are learning the foundational communication, teamwork, and presentation skills for any job. Please take a look.
What is very clear to me is that your ingenuity, your skills, your creative excellence not only brings happiness and meaning to the lives of millions of people, but also provides jobs across the country and This means solidifying our country’s position as a cultural powerhouse on the world stage. .
And tonight I wanted to share with you, in case you were wondering, how much this government supports you and the creative industries.
And I wanted to do this as a story. Late last year, the Prime Minister and Trade Secretary hosted the Global Investment Summit. Over 200 top international investors were invited to pitch the UK as an overseas investment destination at the summit. There were only four plenary sessions, two of which were dedicated to the creative industries. This means that half of the presentations are geared towards the creative industries.
Today, there is overwhelming recognition by the Government that in 2024, our businesses, innovators, creators and artists will be putting Britain’s name on every creative industry in the world. You are our shop window to the planet, and our government knows that.
This British success around the world is, of course, largely the result of our ingenuity, your talent, your hard work and your entrepreneurial spirit. But you’ve also worked with us in government. Over the past 10 years, you’ve revealed how we can help your industry thrive. And we’ve been listening to it.
Broad tax cuts.
Support worth £1.57 billion through the Covid-19 Cultural Recovery Fund.
A wide range of funds to support creative entrepreneurs from startup to scale-up.
Successive Conservative governments have recognized the potential that exists across the creative economy. They understand the tremendous dedication and determination of companies and people in these sectors. And they recognize the importance of the creative industries to our way of life.
For the past decade, governments have introduced some form of tax relief every year.
From film to animation, video games, orchestras and theatre, these tax breaks have helped attract huge global investment to the UK.
Global investment leads to local jobs and livelihoods, new business in our towns and cities large and small, and a culture that encourages creativity in all settings and at all levels.
While we as government officials cannot guarantee success, all we can do is create the right conditions and the right framework to foster success.
And I wanted to share with you tonight the impact of all of these and what the statistics are showing. According to statistics, since 2011, nearly 1 million new jobs have been created in the creative industry. His GVA in this sector has increased by his 50% and in 2022 he stands at 125 billion pounds.
Exports of creative industry services have increased by 210% since 2010.
And recently released figures confirmed that the sector grew by more than 10% between 2019 and 2022.
These are not just statistics. Behind these numbers are hundreds, if not thousands, of success stories across the country. Creative industries brought ideas to life. A job that didn’t exist more than 10 years ago. And the creativity we all enjoyed could have gone elsewhere, but it didn’t.
None of this would have been possible without the energy, leadership, creativity, passion, and investment of the people in this room and beyond. So tonight I want to say thank you for everything you do.
But we cannot rest on our laurels. Last year, when I spoke to you at this same event, I promised you an ambitious vision for your industry.
This is more than just words, I wanted to give you an update on what I’ve been up to with you over the past year.
In June, we published our Creative Sector Vision, developed in partnership with the Creative Industries Council and the wonderful Sir Peter Bazalgette, to set out our future plans.
We have a joint plan to deliver £50bn of growth, an extra million jobs and a pipeline of talent to ensure our industry continues to thrive. And we say we will do it by 2030.
And our plans include £310m of funding, of which £77m was recently announced in June, to support regional creative clusters, as we recognize that creativity is everywhere. It is designed to encourage the growth of creative businesses across the country through financial support and other projects.
This includes, for example, creativity in primary school, vocational schools, further apprenticeships and bootcamps in the creative industries, with a focus on skills from the first day of school to the last day of work.
In June, we announced the Creative Industries Sector Vision and announced the following programs: UK Games Fund to support early stage game developers. Funding to support grassroots music venues. and his triple increase in the Music Export Growth Scheme, which has supported so many emerging artists.
And today’s Budget takes us further than ever with a £1 billion package of measures, building on all our existing support and our creative industries vision.
The Budget recognized that there is a wide range of sub-sectors within the creative industries, each with its own needs, each with its own nuances and each with significant growth potential.
What we’ve done today is set up bespoke support for a number of different components of the broader sector.
That’s why for our film studios, which is a key reason why half of the UK’s top 10 blockbusters were made on mainland Britain last year, we’re providing our film studios with 40% operating fee relief until 2034. We provide support and enable our studios to attract the investment they need. They come from all over the world to bring more creativity and more creative work to the UK.
For UK independent films, we will support these companies with the new UK Independent Film Tax Credit, which provides an increased benefit of 53% to help the sector continue to launch the careers of actors, producers and directors. It allows us to tell British cultural stories. UK wide.
Our visual effects division will see a 5% increase in tax relief and the removal of the 80% cap on expenditure that meets the UK visual effects qualification requirements. These new visual effects reliefs are due to come into force in 2025 and our aim is to make the UK the world’s number one destination for visual effects.
CX today confirmed that the government will provide permanently higher tax breaks for our country’s orchestras, museums, galleries and theaters to continue supporting new and innovative work.
Effective April 1, 2025, these fees will be permanently set at 45% for all orchestral and touring productions and 40% for non-touring productions.
And that’s not all! As part of our plan to build the pipeline of talent our creative sectors need to thrive, today’s Budget includes funding for the National Film and Television School and the National Film and Television School. We are now able to expand our school grounds, expand our course offerings, and build state-of-the-art facilities. We established an art training center and continue to cultivate the next generation of world-leading creative talent.
And last, but not least, the Prime Minister is one of Britain’s great cultural institutions, vitally important in nurturing, inspiring and providing opportunities for Britain’s creative talent. We have also announced special support for the National Theater by providing £. 26.4 million for emergency infrastructure development. This investment will future-proof the theater’s equipment and support its long-term success.
These measures were made possible through our joint partnership. Many people in this room helped make these announcements possible. You have shown us what we can achieve through your excellence and creativity. You and the industry as a whole provided evidence, case studies and analysis that helped me make the case to Treasury for this investment.
Taken together, these measures represent another major step in the support the government is providing to enable creative industries to grow. Built on our strong track record spanning over 10 years.
However, I would like to point out that while the creative industries have experienced remarkable growth in recent years, we are also aware that they are not without challenges.
I take seriously my responsibility to listen, understand and respond to feedback from those on the front lines of the creative industries.
I know there are countless challenges across your industry.
The strike has also affected the television and film sectors.
We understand that the nature of freelance work can cause anxiety for many people.
There is too much bureaucracy, red tape and restrictions when it comes to touring.
Grassroots venues are struggling to survive.
Investment can be difficult to obtain.
And that’s without even mentioning some of the concerns that exist regarding the potential for generative AI to be misused to steal the original work of the people in this room.
And I want you to know that I am working on all of these issues beyond government. I fully understand these challenges and do not underestimate them.
So today is a really, really, really good day for our creative industry, but that definitely doesn’t mean there’s not other things to do. More needs to be done to ensure this sector continues to grow.
That’s why I am dedicated to working every day to achieve our vision for the creative industries sector. And we look forward to working with you to help the sector reach its absolute potential.
thank you very much.