Today, the House of Lords 'Communications and Digital Committee' (a cross-party panel of Members of the House of Lords) published a much anticipated report on the future of creativity in the UK. Culture Commons have successfully spotlighted several pieces of primary research and activity led by several of our clients and partners which will be shared with the UK Government.
The cross-party grouping of Lords asked the creative and cultural sector what they needed for a sustainable future, with several individuals and organisations providing oral and written evidence on the a series of questions over a number of months.
The enquiry was designed to give Members of the House of Lords a better understanding of the many and major changes on the horizon for the UK’s creative industries that are often shaped by a range of national and global trends.
The reports finds that the UK Government must take several steps in order to assist the creative and cultural sectors, and the associated workforce, to maintain the UK's global standing. The headline findings recommendations include:
Recognise our strengths: The creative industries are an economic powerhouse. The Government should commit to making them a key feature of its future growth plan, and explain why they were omitted from its recent list of priority sectors with high growth potential.
Protect IP: The Intellectual Property Office must change its proposed approach to text and data mining to avoid undercutting creative industries business models. The Government should also commit to maintaining and promoting the Uk’s IP standards in trade deals.
Fund what works: UkRI should work with DCMS and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to ensure the Creative Industries Clusters Programme can continue beyond March 2023. Discontinuing support would be a needless waste of a programme that is exceeding co- investment expectations by 600 per cent.
Boost innovation: HM Treasury should change its approach to the R&D tax relief system to include innovation in the arts. It should undertake and publish a comprehensive review of the options. Relatedly, the Government’s review of audiovisual tax reliefs must benchmark the Uk against international counterparts to address declining Uk competitiveness.
Address blind spots in education: over the next decade there will be a huge demand for workers with a blend of digital and creative skills. The Department for Education needs to wake up to this reality. It should start by addressing the major decline in Design and Technology GCSEs, and improving careers guidance. Lazy rhetoric about ‘low value’ arts courses risks deterring much needed talent from pursuing education and careers in the sector. The Department should further address barriers to apprenticeships in the creative sector and promote the new flexi-job apprenticeship scheme more widely.
Follow the data: future priorities—from further education course content through to lifelong learning entitlements and careers guidance—need to be informed by up-to-date market data and long-term forecasts of skills shortages. The new Unit for Future Skills should play a central role in providing this information.
Support adaptation: DCMS should publish a forward-looking plan to help the sector adapt to technological disruption and change, with a particular focus on those on low incomes working in the creative industries.
You can download the full report here: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/33536/documents/182541/default/
The team at Culture Commons will be analysing the potential impacts of these recommendations in the coming days, and identifying shared opportunities for collaboration with the Committee, as well reporting back to our clients and partners on they might impact on their activities.
If you'd like to discuss how we might be able to advise you on the implications of these recommendations for you or your organisations, get in touch with us at contact@culturecommons.uk
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