Supporting the Creative Economy

Debate between John Whittingdale and Tracey Crouch

Thursday 13th February 2014 Westminster Hall

[Mr Whittingdale]

I am happy to, because I agree that the arts make a substantial contribution, not just to this country’s cultural life, but to our economic life, and provide an important economic stimulus. We are well aware of that, which is why, in a few weeks, the Committee will conduct an inquiry into arts funding in the UK, and will discuss with the Arts Council its priorities and how to ensure that the benefits are felt throughout the UK. Some hon. Members feel strongly about that, and it is very much a component of the creative economy’s success.

I have spoken a little about film, but the music industry is another enormous success for this country. The biggest selling artist last year was British: the band, One Direction. I may not have added to their album sales, but that is a huge success, which comes on top of another remarkable achievement: in five of the last six years, the best-selling album in the world has been by a British artist. This country continues to produce enormously successful artists, and it is worth noting that the music industry does that without any financial subsidy from the public.

The electronic games industry is another hugely important contributor to our economy. Some of the best-known games, including “Tomb Raider”, “Grand Theft Auto” and “Football Manager”, are British products. It is important that we continue to be a centre for the electronic games industry; that is another issue that I want to talk about.

I went to the MIPTV annual market in Cannes, where international buyers go to purchase TV programmes. There is no question but that the UK dominates that market. BBC Worldwide has a substantial presence at MIPTV, but independent production companies such as Shed Productions, Shine TV and All3Media, are also hugely successful at selling British products across the world. Then there are the fashion and design industries. Britain is in the lead in all those industries.

We started our inquiry on the basis that this country is remarkably good at the creative industries. Is there more that the Government could do to support those industries? Are there risks attached to that success? In each case we came up with recommendations. We started our inquiry on the back of the most extraordinary showcase for British talent—the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games in London, where British talent, not only sporting but creative, was on display. That creative talent was on display not only in the Cultural Olympiad but in the games themselves, in the extraordinary opening ceremony by Danny Boyle, which gave us an opportunity to exhibit British creative talent to the world.

However, we were concerned to hear, when we received evidence, that some of the companies that played a key role in those events have not been able to take advantage by using that fact in their marketing campaigns. I am sure that the Minister will refer to the supplier recognition scheme, which is a huge step forward that gives companies an opportunity to market themselves on the back of their contribution to the Olympics, but we received evidence from the Professional Lighting and Sound Association, the trade body that represents the professional entertainment technology industry, which remains disappointed that it has not been able to publicise its involvement in the London 2012 games. PLASA gave as an example the fact that some of its members were responsible for the appearance of those rings out of the fire, for the 70,500 LED tablets that were placed on every single seat in the stadium ahead of the opening ceremony, and for the industrial chimneys that rose out of the ground. All of those were iconic moments in the opening ceremony, and the companies should have had an opportunity to make it clear that they were responsible. We still hope that the Government will reconsider the supplier recognition scheme and find a way to allow companies in such fields as audio, video and audiovisual equipment to promote their success in contributing to the games.

A key contributor to the success of the British creative industries is the tax credits offered by the Treasury, for which we give full credit both to this Government and the previous one. The film tax credit has been hugely successful. I understand that last year it generated almost £900 million in international investment in this country through just 37 feature films. I will always remember visiting Paramount Pictures to see the trailer for “World War Z”. There was astonishment on the faces of Committee members, particularly Scottish members, when we discovered that, although the film ostensibly showed Philadelphia being overcome by waves of zombies, it was not Philadelphia but Glasgow. Since then, several members of the Committee have been to a screening of “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”, which is currently on at cinemas. That film is set in America and Moscow, but it was filmed in this country, mainly in London but also in a number of other places; locations included Barnet, Battersea, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Birkenhead, Liverpool, Hatfield, and a power station in Nottinghamshire.

[Tracey Crouch (Chatham and Aylesford) (Con)]

My hon. Friend has missed out the important role of Chatham, which has become a film set, having recently produced “Les Misérables” and various other vast-selling products. Is that not the tax regime at its best, bringing real benefit to local communities?

[Mr Whittingdale]

My hon. Friend is completely right. I apologise for not mentioning Chatham, and I am sure that the fact that it was chosen for “Les Misérables” is not a reflection on her constituents. There is no question but that every part of the country benefits from that kind of international investment. We have more to look forward to: “Mission: Impossible 5” will start filming in Britain soon, as will part of the next episode of “Star Wars”.