Creative industries named as a pillar of UK's economic growth

The support package for the UK's creative industries will be strengthened over the next five years, according to the Autumn Budget. The UK government has named the creative industries as one of eight sectors in which the UK can build on its comparative advantage to drive growth.

Measures to support the sector outlined in the budget include: 

• £15 billion of tax relief
• A 29.5% net rebate on the visual effects sector
• Tax relief of 40% for theatres, orchestras, museums, and gallery exhibitions and 45% for touring productions
• A 2.6% increase in the Department of Culture's budget to £2.3 billion in 2025-2026 to fund cultural institutions and sports facilities.
• Funding of £25 million for the North East Combined Authority to restore Crown Works Studio in Sunderland, a major new high-quality film and television studio expected to create around 8,000 new jobs.
• An additional £3 million to expand the Creative Careers Programme, giving schoolchildren the opportunity to learn more about career paths and engage directly with the workplace.

As set out in the budget, the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport will increase the grant for national museums and galleries.

The British Government's recognition of the creative industries' contribution to growth, and the decision to further support the sector, comes a few years after the major blow to cultural production during COVID-19. According to official figures, in the theatre sector alone, the amount of annual tax relief fell to less than £40 million in 2020-2021 from around £80 million in previous years, and even in 2021-2022 it failed to recover to pre-covid 19 levels.

At the same time, in the European Union, the debate is also open about the contribution of the cultural and creative sectors to overall economic growth. According to European Commission data, these two sectors represent around 4.2% of the EU's gross product, but they also face significant challenges such as declining revenues and digitalisation. They are also affected by global issues such as climate change and the rise of nationalism.

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Kleon3, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons