£50m to support more regional creative clusters, plus extra cash for music venues, video games studios, London Fashion Week and the next generation of British music talent
Plans to build a pipeline of skills and talent through new creative careers promise

New plans to maximise the potential of the UK creative industries and grow the economy have been set out by the government today.

One of the Prime Minister’s priority sectors for economic growth, the creative industries are a global British success story growing at more than 1.5 times the rate of the wider economy over the past decade and contributing £108 billion in gross value added (GVA) annually. Employment in these industries has grown at five times the rate of the rest of the economy since 2011. Speaking at the London Tech Week conference on Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that Britain’s creative industries were “going like gangbusters” and represent a “unique strength” for the country.

Developed with industry via the Creative Industries Council, the Creative Industries Sector Vision published today sets out shared ambitions to build on that success and maximise the growth of the creative industries by £50 billion by 2030, creating one million extra jobs and delivering a creative careers promise that builds a pipeline of future talent.

Framed around the key principles for driving growth – facilitating innovation and investment, alongside building a skilled workforce – the Sector Vision is backed by £77 million in new government investment for the sector.

The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said:

“The creative industries are a true British success story, from global music stars like Adele and Ed Sheeran to world-class cultural institutions like the National Theatre.

“These industries have a special place in our national life and make a unique contribution to how we feel about ourselves as a country.

“We want to build on this incredible success to drive growth in our economy – one of my key priorities – and to ensure that UK creative industries continue to lead the world long into the future.

“Backed up with significant new funding, this ambitious plan will help grow the sector by an extra £50 billion while creating one million extra jobs by 2030”

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said:

“The imagination and ingenuity of British designers, producers, content creators, writers and artists are spearheading growth right across our economy.

“The government is backing our creatives to maximise the potential of the creative industries. This Sector Vision is about driving innovation, attracting investment and building on the clusters of creativity across the country. And from first days at school to last days of work, we will nurture the skills needed to build a larger creative workforce to harness the talent needed for continued success.

“Working with the industry this vision is helping the UK creative sectors go from strength to strength – providing jobs and opportunities, creating world leading content and supporting economic growth across the country.”

Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:

“Our Creative Industry isn’t just about the glitz and glam of the red carpet in Leicester Square. It brings in £108 billion a year to help fund our public services, supports over 2 million jobs, and is world renowned.

“That’s why we’re backing it as an industry to drive our economic growth, keeping the UK at the top of the world’s cultural charts with a multi-million pound boost.”

This includes £50 million to grow clusters of creative businesses in locations all over the country, and more funding to help start-ups scale-up and to turn creative entrepreneurs into CEOs.

New investment will help the next Adele, Ed Sheeran or Sam Smith break into overseas markets, alongside financial support for new video games studios and hundreds of grassroots music venues.

The government will continue to offer competitive creative industries tax reliefs to incentivise production of film, TV and video games in the UK.

This sector vision builds on more than £230 million in government spending on the creative industries since 2021, which includes £75.6 million to build the largest virtual production research and development network in Europe to put the UK at the forefront of advancements in visual effects, motion-capture technology, and AI for the screen industries and live performance. Today the government has announced regional research labs will be based in Yorkshire, Dundee and Belfast with a national lab in Buckinghamshire. The programme will be supported with an additional £63 million investment from industry.

Alongside investment, the Sector Vision commits the government to a new creative careers promise – a pledge backed by a comprehensive package of actions to open up more opportunities, particularly for young people, to pursue careers in the creative industries.

Sir Peter Bazalgette, industry co-Chair of the Creative Industries Council said:

“The Creative Industries are coming of age with this ambitious policy framework for economic growth and cultural value. Our Sector Vision, developed jointly with government, champions R&D-led innovation and future skills, drawing on the talent of all our communities. It also promotes positive impact on health & wellbeing, the environment & Britain’s global reach. Helped by the government’s new spending commitments, the work starts now to deliver on this growth agenda.”