Creative Industries: Creating Jobs and Productivity Growth

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, for this debate and congratulate all three maiden speakers. I declare an interest as a visual artist, but I am afraid that I have no drumming skills.

Any money put into the arts is to be welcomed, and individual arts projects, such as the centre for new writing in Newcastle, doubly so. However, £60 million in Treasury terms is not a great deal of money. The Government will not like me for saying this—or perhaps they will, I do not know—but at present they are largely doing the same thing as the previous Government by putting some money into the already commercialised creative industries, while the arts—in the shape of, for example, our theatres and civic museums, which were mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson—lie under the threat of closure and urgently require funding.

SOLT and UK Theatre say that the addition of five council-owned venues to the Theatres at Risk Register 2025 was “sadly unsurprising”. They have urged the Government to commit £300 million over 10 years to addressing this one specific concern, which is five times the amount of money recently announced. Yet the amount of money needed to put all this right and to fund new projects would still be a drop in the ocean in terms of Treasury funding. As ACE studies show, every pound put into the arts generates £5 of tax revenue, while every job created in the sector creates another 1.65 jobs. There is the evidence that the arts, as well as the more commercialised industries, generate growth.

Of course, this Government should not need to be told that to stint on public investment in this sector is a false economy. I hope the Government are just making a start, but they could, and should, do an awful lot more, and more quickly, particularly where we are in danger of losing the infrastructure entirely. This includes the artists and so many others employed in the creative industries as freelancers, many of whom have seen a downturn in their income in recent years. Will the Government consider the appointment of a freelance commissioner for the creative industries to look at their concerns?

What plans do the Government have to engage with parliamentarians over the concerns of the Welsh National Opera, which urgently needs more funding? For ailing grass-roots music venues, I have three requests for the Government: first, if the voluntary levy on arenas does not work, it should be made mandatory; secondly, they should restore the 75% business rate; and, thirdly, they should put the agent of change principle on a statutory footing. Will the Government do these things?

Will the concern for the arts around Brexit be raised in the 19 May UK-EU summit, if not before? The Minister will know by now about the concerns of the creative industries in relation to AI. In terms of digital, I also draw the Minister’s attention to the debate on the smart fund, led by the noble Lord, Lord Bassam, in the Data (Use and Access) Bill. The smart fund is a levy put on digital devices to compensate artists for copying their work, which would be a very useful additional fund. I would add to that debate that alignment with similar schemes in Europe could usefully be seen as a significant contribution by DCMS to a reset with the EU.

As was pointed out at the recent Carry on Touring event in the Lords, there has been a drop of 74% in artists touring the EU. At the very least, we need a visa-waiver agreement with the EU and the cabotage arrangements radically reformed. But, to be blunt, those who talk against free movement are, however unwittingly, talking against the creative industries, because this is not just about temporary mobility, itself beset with red tape, costs and delay; it is about those important long-term positions in Europe for artists, including classical musicians, which are so much a necessary part of their career structure, now offered only to those with EEA passports. Until we rejoin the single market, our British artists in every medium will always be at a significant disadvantage compared with their European counterparts.

An important part of the arts infrastructure abroad is the British Council—mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Lemos—the future of which is threatened. Will the Government ensure that assets will not be sold off, including buildings and its important collection of contemporary artworks, the loss of which would be tragic both for our culture and for soft power? The Government currently put far less money into the British Council than, for example, Germany does the Goethe-Institut. Will they review that? Will they cancel the £200 million still owed on the Covid loan? Not to do so would be yet another false economy.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

I will feed that back to the department; I cannot commit to it here and now, but I did hear and note that point. I will feed in points made during the debate to relevant Ministers and teams in the department but I cannot commit to that on the hoof in this debate, as I am sure the noble Viscount understands. I am liable to run short of time so, at this point, I will commit to writing to noble Lords with responses to the many questions asked and the really interesting points made throughout this debate.

Moving on to the question from my noble friend Lord Stevenson, the forthcoming BBB charter review will shape the BBC’s crucial role in the creative economy. This includes skills development, investment in the nations and regions, and continuing the BBC’s vital role as an anchor institution around a creative companies cluster.

The noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, and my noble friend Lady Donaghy raised points about higher education and universities. It is important to understand the role of further and higher education in driving innovation in the creative industries, and we will being forward a comprehensive strategy for post-16 education to help us do this.

The noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, raised the importance of issues facing children’s TV. The Government recognise the importance of UK-made, high-quality content for children. That is why we are moving ahead with the implementation of the Media Act, which enshrines educational content in the new public service remit. As she noted, consumption is moving to platforms such as YouTube, where content can be more variable. We are discussing with these platforms what may be possible to promote high-quality programmes.

A number of noble Lords, including the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley of Knighton, my noble friends Lady McIntosh and Lord Brennan, the noble Lord, Lord Londesborough, my noble friends Lady Griffin and Lord Stevenson of Balmacara, the noble Baronesses, Lady Prashar and Lady Bonham-Carter, and others almost without exception mentioned issues around AI and IP protection. We hear creatives’ concerns over the impact of AI, in particular the use of copyrighted works in AI training. As my noble friend Lady Thornton said, the Secretary of State has been clear that creatives are the core of our AI strategy. In December, therefore, we published a 10-week consultation to engage AI and creative industry stakeholders on the impact of AI on the copyright regime to clarify the copyright framework for AI: ensuring creators have control over their work, transparency from AI developers and the ability to license their content and be paid for it.

The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle asked for action, and I sense the urgency that noble Lords feel on this point. We are absolutely clear, however, that we will not make any decisions to proceed without confidence that an approach is workable and effective for rights holders. I look forward to updating noble Lords in due course on these issues.

Turning to the Arts Council England review, raised by my noble friends Lady Thornton and Lord Lemos, the review of my noble friend Lady Hodge will be supported by an advisory panel of great minds from across the sector and beyond, who will bring a mix of establishment and fresh voices to help in this work. The review will ensure that everyone can access and enjoy the arts, no matter who they are or where they live. It will also make sure the Arts Council is working effectively with local communities and supporting creativity at all levels.

In response to the request from my noble friend Lord Lemos, the full terms of reference for the review will be published in due course. This will set out the scope for the review, which will report to the Government in the autumn of 2025, and we expect to publish the conclusions of the review along with the Government’s response in early 2026. I will, however, feed my noble friend’s view in.

The noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, raised the Welsh National Opera. We are pleased to see that it has received £750,000 from the Arts Council of Wales’s jobs protection and resilience fund. Minister Bryant has held a series of productive meetings with the Welsh Government, Arts Council England and the Welsh National Opera to understand how, within the parameters of the arm’s-length principles, we can best ensure a strong and secure future for the Welsh National Opera.

The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, mentioned the grassroots music sector and, like noble Lords, clearly including my noble friend Lord Brennan, I really love live music. It brings a huge amount of joy to my life, and my summer is structured around concerts and gigs of all sizes. Some of the most iconic things about Britain internationally relate to our brilliant musicians, composers and songwriters past and present, but music must be part of our national cultural future, too. Britain’s best-selling artists start their careers in our grassroots venues. Ed Sheeran played at over 360 grassroots venues before reaching arenas; 150 of them have now closed. This is why the Government are urging the live music industry to introduce a voluntary levy on tickets for stadium shows to support a sustainable grassroots music sector. We welcome the progress made by industry in establishing the LIVE Trust to manage funds for the voluntary levy.

A number of noble Lords, including my noble friend Lord Lemos, the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, and the noble Baroness, Lady Bonham-Carter, raised issues relating to our EU exit, and in particular to EU touring. The Government are working to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU and to tackle unnecessary barriers to trade without seeing a return to freedom of movement. Improving arrangements for creative professionals, including musicians and crew, is a priority for this Government, on which we will continue to work closely with the creative sector.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

I asked the Minister when discussions will be held with the European Commission on this. Does she have any detail about when that might happen?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

May I write to the noble Earl on that point? I have reams of paper here, which I am not likely to get through in my limited time, but I will endeavour to write.

The noble Lord, Lord Londesborough, raised the point about philanthropy. I feel really strongly about this, and we are committed to supporting philanthropic growth across the country. The Secretary of State has publicly committed to a place-based strategy to create an environment that will encourage and support local communities and ensure that philanthropy reaches the areas that need it most.

The noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, raised issues around the art market, not least in the context of us leaving the EU, and import and export issues. We recognise the challenges faced by the art market and the importance of maintaining the UK’s status as a major international hub. The Government have conducted a review of the temporary admission procedure, engaging extensively with the arts sector, and HMT is undertaking a review of money laundering regulations with impacted industries.

The noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, and the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, asked about the British Council. The Government highly value the British Council as a UK soft power asset and are committed to working with it to ensure its financial sustainability. The FCDO is exploring all options with the British Council and HMT to ensure this, and I will feed in suggestions made during this part of the debate.

We have heard today what is needed to build thriving creative industries. As part of our plan for change in the industrial strategy, we are developing a creative industries sector plan to drive growth across the country. Culture and creative industries are a key part of the UK economy, not just nice things to have for personal engagement, although it is clear from the passion and enthusiasm across your Lordships’ House that creative industries add richness and enjoyment to our lives. We are clear that the foundation for the future success of the creative industries starts by breaking down barriers to opportunity, and we are ready to enact meaningful change.