Higher Education: Creative Courses

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Wednesday 26th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, my noble friend Lord Clancarty makes an important point about the talent pipeline into the creative sector, but is the Minister aware of the important roles that creative graduates play across the wider economy? At least one-third of the total creative workforce is embedded in non-creative sectors, in roles such as innovation, product design and communications. What assessment have the Government made of the impact of the closure of so many creative courses on UK innovation and economic growth?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The noble Baroness makes an important point: we have both the contribution the creative industries and the contribution that creative education and training more broadly make to the economy. I am not aware of a specific assessment on that topic, but given our focus on creative industries in the industrial strategy and on growth, providing opportunities for that sort of learning to contribute to innovation in a whole range of areas in the economy is important.