The Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is today hosting a major economic growth summit in Gateshead for the UK’s creative industries.
Representatives from Netflix, Spotify, Warner Bros., the National Theatre and British Museum are attending the event which marks the first step towards delivering Sector Plan, as part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy.
A £60 million package is being announced to support growth, including £40 million investment for start-up video game studios, British music and film exports and creative businesses outside of London.
“Our £60 million funding boost will support creative and cultural organisations across the UK to turbocharge growth by transforming local venues, creating jobs, supporting businesses and spreading opportunity across the country,” said Ms Nandy. “But this is by no means the limit of our ambitions, which is why the creative industries are at the heart of the forthcoming Industrial Strategy and will continue to play a key part in this Government’s Plan for Change.”
The package includes investments for start-up video game studios, grassroots music venues and creative businesses to boost British music and film exports, designed to facilitate investment and innovation in communities, in turn supporting businesses and employment.
At the summit, the Culture Secretary will also announce that the priority regions for Creative Industries are the North East, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, Greater London, West of England, South Wales, Glasgow, Edinburgh-Dundee corridor, and Belfast.
A full creative industries sector plan will be announced in the spring.
