£60m boost 'first step' to creative industries growth plan

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Creative industries businesses and projects outside London have been prioritised in a £60m package of government support described as a first step of a longer-term planned Sector Plan for growth.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced the package of measures to coincide with a summit of more than 250 creative businesses and cultural leaders in Gateshead.

The Creative Industries Growth Summit brought together organisations such as Netflix, Spotify, Warner Bros., the National Theatre and British Museum to discuss how to unlock more growth from the creative industries which contribute an estimated £124 billion to the UK economy.

The announcement covered investment for start-up video games studios, film and music exports and creative businesses outside London as well as commitments for the British Business Bank, UKRI and UK skills policy to prioritise the needs of the creative industries in future decisions.

Specific measures included:

• £40 million in funding over the next financial year, including £16.3 million for the Create Growth Programme, £2.5 million for the Supporting Grassroots Music Fund, £5.5 million for the UK Games Fund, £1.6 million for the Music Export Growth Scheme and £7 million for the UK Global Screen Fund.

• 127 creative businesses in 12 regions across England were awarded a share of £3.6 million through the Create Growth Programme (CGP), delivered by Innovate UK

• Four cultural projects in Newcastle, Sunderland, Sheffield and North Somerset will receive a combined £16.2 million from the Cultural Development Fund.

• Additional funding will be agreed as part of the Spending Review for six Mayoral Combined Authorities (North East, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, West of England) to provide an attractive business environment and encourage strong, continued investment in creative industries.

• Changes will brought forward so shorter apprenticeships are available from August 2025, recognising the particular needs of the creative industries.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: "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.

"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."

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the policy built on the UK Government's AI Opportunities Plan, adding: "Our number one mission is to grow the economy and our creative industries are a British success story with a big part to play."

The announcement was welcomed by representatives from the creative industries, regional government and supported businesses. The government is working with industry, including through a Creative Industries Taskforce chaired by Baroness Shriti Vadera and Sir Peter Bazalgette, on the sector plan and there will be more detail and policy announcements made in the months ahead.

The four highlighted cultural projects reflect the policy of focusing on regions other than London.

The Centre for Writing, a new creative centre for the written word, will receive £5m to strengthen Newcastle’s position as a national centre of excellence for writing and publishing. The centre is expected to support over 100 trainees and attract 35 creative businesses to the city.

Glassworks, a new world class facility for glass making in Sunderland that will connect the city’s 1350 years of glassmaking heritage, will receive £5 million.

Harmony Works, a music education centre in Sheffield, will receive £3.5m to transform a vacant Grade II listed building into a music education centre where young people from all backgrounds will be able to explore and hone their musical talents.

The Tropicana, a cultural venue in North Somerset, will receive £2.7m to complete the final development phase and transformation of the historic Grade II listed seafront complex into a flagship cultural centre in Weston-super-Mare.

The businesses receiving funding from the Create Growth Programme (CGP), delivered by Innovate UK, include Borro, a children’s clothing rental platform in the West Midlands, and Tapocketa, an animation studio in Hertfordshire. The funding is designed to help them develop innovative new products, attract private investment and access one-to-one mentoring with industry experts.

See a full list of the funded businesses and more detail on the announcement.

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