£380m funding package announced in Creative Industries Sector Plan

A package of £380 million in targeted funding has been announced as part of a long-term Creative Industries Sector Plan to ensure the UK's creative industries drive regional growth, and are both financially resilient and globally competitive.

The 10-year Sector Plan outlines a vision to increase business investment in creative organisations from £17bn to £31bn by 2035 and includes a commitment to increase support available from the British Business Bank (BBB) to help creative businesses grow and create jobs.

Published alongside the UK government’s Industrial Strategy to grow key industries of the future, the Creative Industries Sector Plan was developed with the Creative Industries Taskforce, Creative Industries Council, devolved governments, and regional stakeholders.

The plan aims to create thousands of new jobs and opportunities in sub-sectors like film and TV, music, performing and visual arts, video games and advertising, while generating economic growth in six regions outside London over the next three years.

The UK’s world famous creative industries drive £124 billion a year into the national economy and employ 2.4 million people UK-wide. Over the last decade the sector has increased its output more than one and a half times faster than the rest of the economy.

The Sector Plan aims to make the UK the best place globally to invest in creativity and drive innovation and tech adoption by 2035, with targeted support for:

• A £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund for six regions outside London, empowering local Mayors to support creative businesses in their communities with access to finance, mentoring and networking opportunities to help them connect with investors and skills programmes. ‍

• At least £50 million for a new wave of Creative Industries Clusters across the UK to accelerate research and development, doubling investment from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in clusters to £100 million. Clusters bring together universities, businesses, local and regional policymakers, and private funders to drive research, innovation and growth in the creative industries.

• £25 million for five new innovative UKRI CoSTAR R&D labs and two showcase spaces, which will develop cutting-edge technologies like those used in Abba Voyage and award-winning theatre productions such as last year’s Olivier Award-winning stage adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

• Building on the government’s commitment to ensure a robust copyright regime and support UK IP, the plan includes the establishment of a Creative Content Exchange. It will act as a trusted marketplace for selling, buying, licensing and enabling permitted access to digitised cultural and creative assets, opening up new revenue streams for content owners.

In addition, the British Business Bank (BBB) has significantly increased its support for the creative industries as part of its £4 billion Industrial Strategy Growth Capital, including through support with debt and equity finance. BBB is a state-owned economic development bank established by the UK Government. Its aim is to increase the supply of credit to small and medium-sized businesses and provide business advice services.

The industry plan responds directly to what the sector has said it needs – better access to finance, stronger skills pipelines, and support for innovation – and lays out a roadmap to deliver it.

This includes upskilling the next generation of creative talent through a £10 million investment in the National Film and Television School (NFTS) which will help to train 2,000 new trainees and apprentices over the next decade – backed by industry giants such as the Walt Disney Company, the Dana and Albert R. Broccoli Foundation, and Sky.

The investment will also go towards a new £9 million creative careers service, which will help raise awareness of opportunities and provide pathways into the sector for young people.

Announcing the plan, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: "Our creative industries are powerful economic drivers in this country. By placing them at the heart of our Industrial Strategy, this Sector Plan, backed by £380 million of investment, will boost regional growth, stimulate private investment, and create thousands more high-quality jobs.

"This Sector Plan will help nearly double business investment to £31 billion by 2035, supporting our mission to raise living standards everywhere as part of our Plan for Change, ensuring the UK remains the world’s creative powerhouse."

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: "The UK’s creative industries are world-leading and have a huge cultural impact globally, which is why we’re championing them at home and abroad as a key growth sector in our Modern Industrial Strategy.

"We’ve seen the power of investment, with this Government welcoming around £100 billion into the UK since taking office, and our Strategy will not only ensure that the UK is the best country to invest and do business in, but deliver economic growth that puts more money in people’s pockets."

Sir Peter Bazalgette, Co-Chair, Creative Industries Council, said: "This ambitious plan for growth represents a coming of age for the creative sector. Crucially the plans for R&D funding and Access to Finance for SMEs are exciting step changes."

Baroness Shriti Vadera, co-chair of the Creative Industries Council, said: "This strategy recognises that the UK Creative Industries are one of the most innovative sectors in the UK economy and have a strong comparative advantage internationally. The work now begins to cement their role as a driver of growth and a global creative super power."

The investment also includes tailored packages for high-growth sub-sectors through:

• A £75 million Screen Growth Package supporting UK content development and international investment, and showcasing the best of UK and international film. This includes an enlarged UK Global Screen Fund and scaled-up BFI Film Academy to support 16–25 year olds from under-represented backgrounds to enter the film industry.‍

• A Music Growth Package worth up to £30 million, helping emerging artists break through at home and abroad. Measures will create new touring, performance, mentoring and export opportunities for emerging talent, while also delivering a significant uplift in funding for the grassroots sector to support small venues and help them to platform more high-potential artists.

• A £30 million Video Games Growth Package, backing the next generation of start-up games studios and developers. This will drive inward investment in the sector through expansion of the UK Games Fund (UKGF) as well as new support for the London Games Festival.

The Sector Plan also includes support for emerging fashion designers through the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN programme, to help them showcase their work at London Fashion Week and secure business mentoring.

It will also see the Department for Business and Trade ramp up the number of creative trade missions and markets it targets, such as in the Asia-Pacific. Funding will be increased for major creative trade shows such as SXSW and Cannes Lions.

The Sector Plan builds on the recent £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund supporting cultural venues across the nation.

Read more on the Creative Industries Sector Plan.

Read more on the UK's Industrial Strategy.

‍

‍